Gray Matter
by Angelight
Summary: Usagi Tsukino, prime agent of Innocence, New York City's posh criminal organization, quite on accident bumps into FBI agent Hiiro Yui and gets caught. Sparks will fly angry ones. ::Complete:: :DDD!
1. Help Me Forget You

Hola all! ^^ This one will be another Usagi/Hiiro fic. Ack! I really can't help it, but I want to do at least one with Usagi paired up with someone else! 

Editors! Almost forgot you guys! *ducks the dictionaries thrown at her* Sorry! DevilsDarling, Autumn Hime, Usagi Asia Maxwell, Aidenn Legacy, and Usa-chan all helped to make this chapter more enjoyable for those of you out there who hate grammar and spelling mistakes. 

Disclaimer: *whines* I don't own either or them, okay? *retreats to corner to sulk*

…………………

Usagi sprinted through the airport, brushing away tears of frustration, clutching a handbag filled with more than just makeup to her side. Why was she so helpless? Being the self-proclaimed contemporary Robin Hood and the media-proclaimed future Houdini, she could do nothing to save a single person's life. _Nothing._ Her hands had hung limply at her sides as the color drained from his face and left her with only a pale recollection of sunny past smiles and eternally echoing laughter. 

Her mind wandered back to when she had first glimpsed those violet eyes and started running. The constantly cheerful face did nothing to fool her – it was backed by a gun. That had always been the way she thought of him – smiling almost idiotically while a plan formed in his head. It was a way of saying "nice doggie" while searching for a stick. 

But she had been all too enamoured with one Chiba Mamoru at that time to really take notice of the friendly face that she would find herself falling for. 

It was so typical it was sickening. What's the novelty in falling in love with the policeman who wanted you behind bars? What's the novelty in getting caught only because adolescence's hormones drove all thoughts of reason out of one's mind? The only twist in this novel was that SHE had been the one to fire the shot that would end his life.

_Usagi stood in front of a man, glaring at him with dangerous ocean blue eyes as two guards flanked her, both staring straight ahead at a blank wall._

"I'm going to kill you someday."

The man simply grinned his usual cheeky grin and replied, "I'd like to see you try."

"Well?"

"Well what?"

"Arrest me."

"I will. You are sentenced to eight years in prison for armed robbery and three months in solitary confinement for insolence to the inspector."

Her eyes flew open, and she barely noticed hands grabbing her on either side as she lunged forward. "I swear, Duo Maxwell! I'll kill you someday!"

What was she thinking? Even through her panic-veiled eyes and anger-filled heart, she had felt and seen something in this predator. For some reason, she had fallen in love with him. How was that possible? It was like a rabbit befriending a fox. One or the other would have to die ... but they didn't care at that time. 

Perhaps the secrecy of it all was intoxicating? After all, they both yearned for adventure, and this was simply another adventure. But no. Duo had loved her. She could tell – it was like the instinct that told sparrows when to fly south.

_Usagi hugged the wall as she peeked around the corner. No one was there. Breathing a sigh of relief, she allowed herself a brief respite from worry and wondered whether or not her escape would prove easier than she had predicted. _

Maybe Duo was really good at stalling people? A small smile formed on her lips at the thought.

Suddenly a shadow quivered and came towards her. She stiffened and berated herself for letting her guard down for even that brief moment. Crying out, she whipped the compact semi-automatic out from her back pocket and shot randomly at the shadow. The shadow gave out a cry as well and slumped forward. Usagi felt a coldness trickle down her spine as the familiarity of the voice struck her like a cold slap on the face. 

"Duo! No!" choked out in the deathly silent air. **Too silent!** her mind screamed at her as she turned the corner.

"Usagi?" His never-changing cobalt eyes blinked blearily up at her, so comforting yet so despairing. Glassy and darkened from pain, they narrowed into brilliant crescents as he smiled up at her and ignored the bitter tear that fell from her crystalline eyes and slid down his cheek.

"Oh my God, oh my God ... what have I done?" she whimpered softly, hand held up to muffle the wrenching sobs that fell from previously smiling lips.

"Usagi, forget about it. You gotta get out of here-" He was interrupted by the loud screech of the alarms as their surroundings were bathed in red. They both started.

"GO!"

"No, I can't-"

"Just GO!"

"Duo-"

"Usagi. Think logically. If I get out of here, I'll lose more blood and there would be no chance of survival for me. Maybe if you leave me here, I'll get aid sooner, and then, if you escape, we can meet again."

Panicking at the sound of distant footsteps, all she did was nod her head before fleeing, golden hair leaving a short trail behind her as Duo smiled and murmured _his farewell to the world._

She was such a coward. She thought herself to be some hero that made a difference in the world, but was she really? After saving many lives and fortunes while risking her own, had she become complacent and therefore careless? But that didn't matter to her at the time. In fact, the world didn't seem to register in her mind on that fateful morning when she finally stopped deluding herself and realized she had loved and lost.

_Usagi woke up to a new day. In the back of her mind, she wondered if Duo would contact her, while fretting over when Artemis was going to give her a call regarding the recent "job". _

A month had passed slowly but blearily since the incident. The world was locked out of her penthouse, kept under an innocent pseudonym. Wrapping herself in a soft robe, she reassured herself that he should have recovered by now. Worries were batted aside as she reminded her reluctant mind that even if he had recovered, security would still be too tight for him to contact her. 

She sleepily started the coffee machine before opening the door and smiling down at the neat stack of the **Washington Post** at her doorstep. Grabbing it, she closed the door and poured out the coffee with a small sigh of contentment at the overwhelming aroma. She flopped onto the vintage couch and carefully set the hot cup down on the more decorative than useful coffee table before flipping through the articles.

Headline was about her recent thievery. She smiled in slight satisfaction. The assignment had been to get a diamond approximately half the size of her fist back to its original owner from a person she had now become used to dealing with – Chiba Mamoru. Yes, the same Chiba Mamoru the hormonal teenager in her had managed to fall for. The same Chiba Mamoru who was now a criminal mastermind and a personal enemy. Nevertheless, it was simple routine. 

Thinking back to when she had first entered the business, Usagi chuckled at how she had been so amazed by the numbers of gems that passed through her fingers each day. The shock had worn off fairly quickly – so many had passed by her that she doubted she even thought them of any value anymore.

Flipping to the second page, she gasped as she read the title of one of the articles. The hand reaching for her coffee fell short but brushed against the hot ceramic, and she hissed in pain, yanking the injured hand back.

**Another Act of Tsukino?**

**On this very day, the past month, in the prison of San Francisco, three gunshots were heard by nearby officials. When authorities arrived at the scene, the policeman on guard was found shot and bleeding severely. Barely conscious, the young Duo Maxwell managed to recount the tale to his colleagues.**

"I was on guard. Before I heard the gunshots and fell, I managed to catch a glimpse of the escapee. It was a man, I believe, with dark blonde hair, and he ran out down the south corridor."

The inspectors then researched for a man in the jail with the described features and failed to find any. The only person missing was the infamous Tsukino Usagi. Officials had reason to believe that Duo Maxwell and Tsukino Usagi were affiliates but did not take any action as Mr. Maxwell was an honored member of the San Francisco Police Force, having risked his life on numerous occasions while acting as a bodyguard for well-known political figures such as Vice Foreign Minister Relena Darlian and the L4 colony cluster representative and owner of extensive oil fields in Saudi Arabia, Quatre Raberba Winner. Even if they had decided to take action, it would not have been necessary, as Duo Maxwell died the next day of severe blood loss. 

Now the question is, where is Tsukino Usagi?** Authorities refuse to give out any information whatsoever at this point in time. [Continued on page B4]**

Usagi numbly dropped the newspaper onto the floor over her carefully selected cream carpet and fell back onto the leather couch, feeling the energy drain from her body. 

Duo was dead. 

And it was all her fault.

Not knowing what to do and feeling so uncharacteristically helpless, Usagi had accepted the first assignment that Artemis had phoned her about. It wasn't a major one, a very simple one actually. She had to retrieve various articles of jewelry along with some paperwork from one Chiba Mamoru. This one would only earn her two million, but when had she worried about money? She was sure that somewhere in some unknown bank, Artemis had stashed her money for something as trivial as "college". 

Artemis, her mentor, her boss, her guidance. He was the only person who had managed to keep her sane with his lame jokes and aristocratic air. She returned the favor easily by acting her usual sunny self. Maybe formerly usual sunny self.

Wiping her face of the accusing traces of tears one last time and adjusting her wig, she got onto the plane to Calais, France. 

"Miss Tsukino?" A hand tapped her on her shoulder.

Forcing herself not to gasp, she leisurely turned toward the direction of the male voice. 

"I'm sorry, but I believe you're mistaken."

"I'm sorry, but I believe you're bluffing."

Usagi looked up at the insolent policeman to meet eyes that looked so much like Duo's she was suddenly flooded by memories and a lump gathered at her throat. But these eyes weren't Duo's. The owner of them allowed them to show no hint of emotion, as he looked at her steadily, positive that she wouldn't be able to escape.

Licking her lips while inhaling, she responded calmly, "Your point."

Barely relaxing, the man stated in a trained monotone, "You are charged with armed robbery and first degree homicide of Officer Maxwell, Duo. Don't make a move and follow me when we reach Calais."

Giving up, Usagi gave a simple and laughably relaxed, "Sure."

Nodding curtly, the man sat down next to her and flashed a badge up at the protesting owner of said seat. He leaned back though she wasn't fooled for one moment into thinking he wasn't still eyeing her carefully, assessing for weaknesses.

"But I want to know the name of the formidable person who won this game." She winced inwardly – flattery never suited her.

"Yui," he grunted before turning his attention elsewhere.

…………………

I'm most definitely continuing this one. ^^ Review please! And emails go to angelight97@yahoo.com. Thanks for reading! Yours, Angel. ^___^ 


	2. Stormy Relationship

Disclaimer: If I did own Gundam Wing and Sailor Moon, I already would have written a manga crossing the two instead of wasting my time writing fan fiction … Lol. So, I think we can all safely assume that I do NOT own either Gundam Wing or Sailor Moon.

Thanks as always to my editors Lady Artemis, Autumn Hime, Usagi Asia Maxwell, and DevilsDarling. ^______^

Warnings:

- Major, major sap … can anyone spell disgusting? Lol. ^^;;;

- A lot of stream of consciousness. Not really bad … just REALLY boring. ^_~

…………………

The plane came to a complete halt, and Usagi meekly got up to follow Hiiro. What else could she do? It wasn't as if she could break away in such a crowded not to mention _tiny_ airplane. Obviously Hiiro noted the fact as well because he was barely paying any attention to her other than to motion for her to follow him. She wondered briefly whether or not she could contact Artemis but quickly dismissed the thought when she realized that she couldn't hope to get anywhere near a phone.

Hiiro held onto her wrists with a vise-like grip. She winced as her fingertips grew numb from the lack of circulation. Still thinking about Duo, she hardly cared that she had been captured ... much less led like a child along the streets of Calais. What did he think she would do? Try to run? She wasn't stupid. He probably had various weapons with him and wouldn't mind killing her if she did try to escape. Nobody on the dirty and uneven streets bothered to look at them, perhaps not willing to tangle their own lives in the sticky situation.

"Where are you taking me?" she asked though more to breach the silence than to satisfy her curiosity. It was quite obvious where she was going.

"Hotel," he replied curtly, giving out words sparingly as if they were coins.

"Hotel?!" she yelped. Had she been in a better situation, she would have controlled her emotions, but now it hardly mattered, did it? 

"We'll be taking a flight to New York tomorrow afternoon."

"Why New York? Why not just arrest me here?" This time she was curious.

Hiiro paused a moment to stare at her. What's with this girl? She was supposed to be one of the cleverest criminals in the universe, and here she was, asking her would-be sworn enemy questions like a curious kitten. Had she no tact? 

"There are ... certain questions you have to answer," he replied testily, watching for her response with predatorial eyes.

"Questions?" The word came out like a breath of wind, and Usagi blanched. New York was the hometown of one of her most ardent pursuers. What would he do to her_? Cruel and unusual tortures are outlawed by the amendment entitled 'Bail and Punishment'_, her mind automatically reminded her. She almost laughed at the thought. She wasn't a fool. Somehow, Treize would find a way to hurt her ... with or against the Constitution. 

For a moment he almost felt sorry for the girl. Almost. But quickly shook the thought from his head. The girl deserved what she was going to get. Is it not her fault for stealing? Is it not her fault for murdering Duo? She made the decision without the use of blackmail or even persuasion. Just ... he felt sorry for anybody who had to see the face of that bastard Treize. Yeah, that was it. And ... he shook his head again, this time more subtlely. 

He could swear there was something he was forgetting.

…………………

They entered the dimly lit hotel, and Hiiro finally released her hand. She stared at him while rubbing her wrist absent-mindedly. 

"That," he said pointing to the door farthest down the hall, "is you bedroom."

"Aren't you afraid I might escape?" she asked, tilting her head in a thoughtful pose.

"Why should I be?"

Usagi's anger flared at this hidden insult but, glaring into Hiiro's eyes, she realized it was a simple question. "I'm a criminal. If I don't escape, I'd kill you."

"Doubtful." And with that, he turned away from her, entered his room, and closed the door. The lock clicked, clearly signifying that the conversation was over.

…………………

Midnight found Usagi knocking on Hiiro's door.

"Hiiro?" she timidly called out before pressing her ear to the door to hear if he had gotten up.

"What?" came the reply as the door opened to a less-than-happy policeman.

She smiled up at him angelically and whined in a plaintive tone, "I'm hungry."

"Look in the refrigerator," he growled before slamming the door in her face. 

Grumbling, she turned sharply and walked over to the kitchenette of the luxurious hotel room. 

"Hey! There is no refrigerator!" she cried out, half in shock, half in indignation.

"Go look for food then," came the muffled reply.

She glared at the door, wishing to burn holes through it with her eyes. A sudden idea flashed in her mind. 

"Ya know, if I go outside to get it myself, I can easily call a cab and go to the airport ... but if somebody was with me..." she let the sentence hang.

The door flew open, and Hiiro stormed out. "You don't even have your damn passport," he grumbled to himself before getting his coat and leaving her to follow. _Are policemen all this rude?_ she wondered before grabbing her own overcoat and locking the door behind her.

"You're lucky Calais always has someplace open," Hiiro commented as the pair strolled down the wide sidewalk. 

"Well, if you had thought about food then we wouldn't be in this situation," she retorted, sniffing haughtily.

He shot a riled glance in her direction, which she blithely ignored.

Spotting a restaurant, she gently tugged at Hiiro's sleeve while pointing to the brightly-lit shop.

They crossed the near-empty streets and entered the warm room with a ding. Choosing a table, they sat down before Usagi ordered half of the items on the menu. The waitress shot them a sly wink, which Hiiro ignored and Usagi missed, before scurrying away to fulfill the late night "snack".

Removing her scarf and settling down in her seat, Usagi noticed Hiiro's eyes following her every movement.

"I just ordered a minimal amount so you won't go bankrupt," she explained in all seriousness.

Hiiro continued to stare at her, not flinching as she made a face at his stoic face. _Babysitting wasn't listed in the job requirements,_ he noted bitterly.

The food came quickly as they were the only customers at such an unearthly hour, and Usagi inhaled the food, drawing sharp glances from the waitress who had served them. In total, the little excursion took under ten minutes. 

The blonde had begun tugging at his arm the instant the restaurant door closed behind them again, with another ding. She walked resolutely in the direction away from the hotel.

"What do you think you're doing?!" he snarled, yanking at his arm, but her grip was tight and unrelenting. Panic flooded him and clouded his mind before he hastily pushed it away. Reaching with his other hand to feel his pockets, he realized that he hadn't bothered to bring any weapons. Cursing out loud, he yanked harder.

Innocent blue eyes glanced back at him. "Don't worry, I just want to show you something," she smiled softly up at him. Her earnestness struck a sensitive nerve.

They walked on, further and further away from the city's neon bright lights until they reached an open area. He could barely make out scraggly trees a bit farther in the direction they had been heading.

"Look," she whispered softly while pointing up at the sky, "Aren't they beautiful?" Dreamy blue eyes stared up into heaven.

Hiiro's eyes traveled in the direction her arm stretched and blinked. Confusion enveloped him in its beguiling embrace as he frowned. This girl … this Usagi was something different – agile and dangerous as a criminal, one of her occupation's "star employees", but past the thorny exterior there was a soft inside and a little girl simply wanting to be normal. A little girl with the thoughts and actions of average little girls. With the same childlike admiration for the world around her. His heart grew heavy –he was never allowed to be like that.

"Yes, they are," he replied equally softly and inwardly frowned at the tone of his voice. 

What made this girl so special? So much more special than any others ... so different from him and yet so alike. So full of happiness but holding a silent sadness in her endless pools of blue. Having the mind of a child but having seen all that a person could possibly have witnessed. What made her more okay than him? A familiar longing took its reserved place in his heart. The familiar feeling of loneliness and desperation ... he wanted to be okay too...

She turned and smiled at him warmly before casting her eyes down to hide sudden tears. Laughing a bit and crying a bit, she lied down on the cold September ground, never once taking her eyes off the speckles of silver. 

The laughter soon died away and dissolved to bitter tears. Her lips moved as if forming words that he had to lean close to hear. "Just like night lights in the sky ... always bright, no feelings, no nothing..." 

An incomprehensible feeling took over his body, drowning him under a bewildering tide of emotions and causing him to have a sudden urge ... He bent down slowly over her upturned face and just breathed, enjoying the sensation of her warm breathing on his cheek and the simple intimacy. 

A few moments lapsed in time before he bent further and hesitantly brushed his lips against hers. Once, twice, thrice. Wide blue eyes now stared up at him but without the malice he expected ... with wonder ...? Her breath came out in short gasps, and all she ever wanted ... all she ever needed was for their lips to touch ... Reaching up with her arms, she entwined her fingers in his hair and brought his face to hers. 

A cold bit of ice fell on her cheek, and she let go of him to investigate. Laughing out loud, she jumped up and began twirling in the small snowflakes. Twirling as the ice twirled around her ... All he could do was stare at her. At her with marvel and fear ... fear that she might be able to change him. Fear that he might begin to feel again. Fear that she might be the key to unlocking his heart.

Finally coming to a halt, Usagi noticed that the winter sun peeking over the line of scattered trees. The snow kept falling unheeded, but it was morning. Turning back to Hiiro, she leaned close to him until her breath tickled his ear. His breathing sped up along with his heart, and a feeling of euphoria soaked into his body to the very core. 

"I'm hungry again," she whispered before running away, giggling peals of laughter and motioning for him to catch up. 

As impossible as this love may be, he indulged in being normal if for just one night ... if for just this one moment...

Impossible ... he didn't even know half of it. 

…………………

Thanks for reading! Please review or email at angelight97@yahoo.com. Yours, Angel. ^_~

  
  
  



	3. Break My Heart

Wow ... looks like I actually updated it. Shocking, no? Still in a state of depression due to Kenshin. *grrr*

Disclaimer: As long as impersonating manga artists is against the law, I don't own Sailor Moon or Gundam Wing. But the day that law is removed ... watch out. ^^

A _big _thank you to Serenity-Moon for bestowing the framework of this chapter to me. All I did was expand, add adjectives, and alter the ending a bit. Thank you for your wonderful inspiration that has led me out of the dungeon of writer's block (for now) and into the real world again ... yeah. ^^ Also thanks for editing as well ... really, I ask too much of you. ^_~

Several big thanks to my wonderful editors who remained ever so faithful through the bogs of grammar mistakes, the rapids of misused punctuation marks, and even the steep slopes of "ineloquence". This chapter was pretty pathetic without you guys ... trust me, I'd know. ^^ Thanks to Autumn Hime, Serenity Moon (not the previously mentioned Serenity-Moon), Usagi Asia Maxwell, and DevilsDarling. Check their fics out! I think they're all here at fanfiction.net by now...

Saa ... here we go. Let's see how many mistakes you can catch! ^^'''

…………………

The 'Let's see how much food can fit into our stomachs' session began with a lurch and ended efficiently, with a screeching of the tires. The food had disappeared, all shoved down the remarkably wide mouth of a _slender _twenty-two year old; the plates were sparkling and carefully formed in the shape of the leaning tower of Pisa. Except this tower of Pisa was beyond a reasonable doubt defying gravity.  
  
Usagi allowed Hiiro a few minutes of awed silence before perking up and chirping, serious expression at hand, "Can we go for dessert?"  
  
This instantly warranted an extravagant show. Unlike herself, the health-conscious policeman had ordered a tasteless glass of iced water, and that "healthy" water succeeded in causing him to choke.   
  
He raised an arching eyebrow at her. "You're still hungry? Do you have a bottomless pit for a stomach or something?"  
  
She allowed a small smile to settle on her face when the realization that what she had just seen had been an endangered or even new facial expression hit home.  
  
Not a beat off, her face molded itself into a pout, and she whined, "But I want dessert!", blinking a handful of times after hearing herself. Since when had she traveled back in time by twelve years? Heck, not even ten-year-olds would beg like she just did.   
  
But ... something about the security of the restaurant, the rushing shoppers, whining husbands, animated children, and laughing mothers that brought out, literally, the child in her. The still snowing lavender sky aided this effect for this was, as she would like to term it, "happy snow". She had been through too many years of "lonely snow" or even "no time for snow". And all these scores of mood changes owing to someone who was escorting her to her death? She must be going crazy.  
  
He countered her plea with an effortless smirk, this twisting of the face much more accustomed to. "This is coming out of _my_ wallet, you know," he said, not sure whether or not that was intended to be a joke.   
  
She smiled halfheartedly at the remark before looking down at her own entwined fingers, feeling a lump gather at her throat but then swiftly pushing it back down. She only allowed herself half a minute of blubbering annually and that was used up the previous night. Moreover, she certainly wouldn't know what to do if they started cascading down, having only gathered eleven minutes of tears in her life. And from the look of the man opposite of her, he wouldn't know how to deal with them either.   
  
Decisively, she teased, "After all, before I go to whatever death Treize prepared for me, I'd like to have an _entire_ meal with the person who finally caught up with me." The joke faltered and ended unconvincingly, sputtering delicately and twisting with sarcasm.   
  
"Fine, lets go," Hiiro declared in monotone while getting up. It was times like these that caused him to shy away from emotions. Because, frankly, emotions stung and pricked at the chinks in one's armor, and while he wasn't wholly sterile of them, he was able to minimize them to a humming in the background.   
  
Their evaporating in the back of his mind was now a regular habit. He had gotten used to his brain not triggering the usual effects to something touching, or tender, or funny. Perhaps ... perhaps too used to let go.   
  
_She's going to die_. She's going to die, and he'll never be able to indulge in her smile or suffer the mayhem she caused again. So ... why was he willing to have a decent conversation with her? Why was he tagging along with her whims and tolerating her towing him about when he'll simply lug her to death's door soon after? He was mystified, and his chest hurt from the inside._ See?_ Emotions _did_ hurt. He almost opened his mouth to object his last statement but...  
  
"Thank you, Hiiro!" 

And then it was all worth it. 

That grin, the uncommon, childish expression engulfing and flooding past her face, and the goal that was growing in her mind – to eat him to the gutters of bankruptcy. Oh God, he was romanticizing. Oh God, oh God, save him, somebody.  
  
_He is reverting back to monotone? Is he mad at me?_ Usagi wondered while staring at his profile which didn't allow her to discern a smirk or any show of emotion for that matter. What happened? One minute he was almost smiling and even quirking his eyebrow, but the next she was back on square one, and he was completely turning a blind eye to her.   
  
She almost snorted at her thoughts. Who was she to think that she could change him? She wasn't innocent. She wasn't even cheerful often. Hell, when she opted to, she could be as bad as, if not worse than him! But still, one thought lingered in her head – _Did men have mood swings too?_  
  
"Come on, I know of a place around the corner," he stated while walking speedily, almost as if trying to lose her or at least force her to ask him to slow down.   
  
_What the heck? I'll never understand men_, she told herself but strained herself to walk more rapidly as well, involuntarily enlisting herself in the race. What can she say? She was competitive by nature.

  
…………………

  
Hiiro looked at her, flabbergasted, as she jumped up and down with excitement at the counter. _And this is the person whom the media reported has had billion-dollar gemstones pass through her fingers on a daily basis? _  
  
It was getting progressively tricky to imagine the delightful, petite, fair-haired girl who loved food and cake even more lifting a few fist-sized diamonds off of the planet's most prominent figures. How did she do it? Was this some act? If it were, he'd recommend her to connections in Hollywood. After all, she could net in as much cash as she currently did if she kept those acting skills up.   
  
But really, some of the situations that she had gotten out of were so staggering, with just a hint of a crack through which she could flit away. She was virtually ... immortal – somebody to worship when it came to physical and mental capabilities. Physiologically speaking, she _was _perfection. Morally speaking ... he had yet to find out.  
  
Usagi ordered in the manner he had expected. "I would like everything from number ... twelve and down."   
  
All the same, disbelief swamped his features. Grumbling almost silently, he paid and helped haul the food to the table.   
  
A thankful look flew towards him as she quietly said, "If everything fails, and even if it doesn't, I'll pay you back. Don't worry." With that, another eating session launched off, leaving Hiiro to wonder_ what is everything?_  
  
Left with only a small box of pastries, Usagi started walking out of the store, so he pursued. As the intermittent streetlight blazed in her eyes, she peeked over at the stoically walking man beside her.   
  
"Are you mad at me?" she asked quietly, hating herself for allowing a tremor in her voice.  
  
Hiiro unnoticeably jerked at this seemingly innocent question and turned to look at her, "No, why?"   
  
Yes, why? Why did she think he was annoyed at her? Unquestionably, his actions had been what his usual self would have displayed but ... she wasn't willing to settle for his usual self.   
  
Usagi nibbled her bottom lip gently while looking Hiiro bluntly in the eye. "Because you are steering clear of my questions and shrinking back into that shell, Hiiro. You are the nicest person I know, and I fancy getting to know you before I go to the New York court. You know, kind of like a live your life to the fullest kind of thing," she finished cheerfully, the ending of a streetlight flinging her face and figure into shadow.  
  
Hiiro inwardly cringed at her detached mentioning of her going to the courtroom where the spiteful Treize would undoubtedly be more than happy to condemn her to death, laughing wildly the entire way.   
  
And ... what was that? He was the nicest person she knew? Was she kept away from society as a toddler? Duo would undoubtedly have a field day with that. But ... he realized as freezing fingers seized his heart, Duo was dead. Owing to the woman beside him.   
  
"It's not that," he answered truthfully. _So what is it?_ his mind challenged.  
  
"Then why are you cold again?" she asked, charming voice depicting her emotions as plainly as if he were to see them.  
  
"No reason," he shrugged and continued ambling back in the direction of the hotel, without turning around to wait for her.   
  
_I can't get to know her. She murdered Duo, a completely innocent man. I can't... _He shook his head. He had known all along that he couldn't get close to her. She was anything but the innocent girl she seemed to be. With that, he did indeed shrink back from reality, allowing himself to once again become a shell of what he was for the last day or so. One day in rapturous heaven was all he is worthy of.  
  
The flaxen-haired girl gaped at his back with worry evident on her features before a word tumbled from her lips, "Hiiro..."  
  
Entering the hotel for the second time, Hiiro had instantly proceeded to his room, ready to abandon the girl before, "Hiiro."   
  
"What?" he snapped ruthlessly, perhaps more harshly than his pervious self would have allowed but that self had passed away. Sleeping again. Perhaps for eternity.  
  
"A-are you okay?"  
  
"Yes," he retorted brusquely and glanced back at her, almost as if asking her whether or not she was done.  
  
"You're mad at me." No question, no hesitation, pure facts unearthed.   
  
"I'm not mad at you," he sighed, feeling the emotions in him start to churn again. He wasn't about to let them out again. "But it would be nice if you left me alone for the rest of the trip," he ground out.

"I can't win with you, can I?" she laughed softly.

The reply flew out of his mouth before he could halt it – "I didn't know you wanted to."

Usagi didn't counter. She didn't need to. He could tell from her distraught expression that she was more hurt than she had ever been for a long period of time. His arm itched to reach over to her hand and touch it gently, if only to lesson her misery by a millionth of a notch. But he didn't, obviously.   
  
The door closed tightly after he entered his room, ignoring her to the best of his ability the whole way. _What have I done? _his emotional side asked himself. _Please ... please, just leave me alone,_ he replied tiredly, cradling his head in his hands. The voice departed.  
  
The other occupant of the hotel stepped into her own bleak room and closed the door behind her noiselessly, face lax, with no emotion besides worry and maybe a shade of mourning. Journeying over to the balcony door, she unbolted it and stepped out.  
  
A small breeze caught her hair and made it lick at her delicate skin. Going to the railing, she leaned on it and looked up at what was left of the moon for this cycle. "Is there anything left for me here?" came the muted, wavering question.  
  
A pair of glowing indigo eyes studied her from the doorway, past the simple sheet of glass that served as the balcony door. _Seraph_, his mind supplied despite the valiant efforts to suppress it. Submerged in the moon's doting luminosity while her skin and tresses glistened, Usagi looked exceptionally like the romantic idea of an angel. With practiced stealth, he inaudibly walked towards her.

  
Looking down at the city now, she mentally wondered_ Why can't I be like those people down there? So happy-go-lucky and not fretting themselves to death over the trials and tribulations of life that they can't hope to mend. Is it so much to ask for something like that, God?_  
  
By then Hiiro had reached her. Slipping behind her, he tentatively enfolded her in his embrace.   
  
"What's the matter?" he asked gently. And then cursed at himself for it.  
  
Usagi inwardly shivered, enjoying the sensation of his warm breath on her neck. "Just wondering why I can't have a normal life," she laughed frivolously, belittling the idea.  
  
"You're a lot closer than I'll ever be," he sighed and released her.  
  
Turning around, she stared intensely into his eyes and performed a soliloquy. "Life isn't picture perfect, Hiiro, and no matter how much I yearn for it to be or try to change it, I can't. I've committed crimes, true, but ... all of them were backed by good intentions. The only one ... Duo ... I'll never stop feeling guilty. But ... no matter what I say to you, I can't turn back anymore. 

"It's like the color gray. There is evil in the world, stark black, but then there's the hope and radiance, blinding white. Together in the same world, they're gray, neither white nor black. Neither can irrevocably get rid of the other. Life is gray even though people choose not to notice it. But ... hmm..." her voice diminished before she finished her train of thought.  
  
Hiiro gazed at her, processing the information. _And this is why you can't get to know her,_ his mind told him smugly, chuckling at the fact that the girl had said it herself.   
  
The moonlight cast him in shadow more than light, and she stared up at him, dazed and bewildered. Something had changed after her little speech, and she wasn't sure she liked it at all.   
  
"Do you really believe in what you just said?"   
  
She started. "Y-yes! Of course I do!" Then smiling as she glanced askance, she added, "But don't worry, you have all the world left for you. Anyone to adore, anything to accomplish, and anyhow to achieve it. Me, well..." she trailed off and looked back up at him.   
  
Her eyes wavered uncertainly as they pursued his. His wistful, shadowy, sapphire gaze plummeted to her lips and stayed there, staring so intently that she thought for sure he was kissing her with his eyes. "_Any_one to adore?" he breathed.   
  
"S-sure, why not?" she countered unsteadily. His gaze was no longer on her lips, and he stared indifferently into her eyes before whispering, "You're wrong," and walking back to his room the way he came, like a ghost and without any parting words.  
  
The girl he left behind felt her knees buckle and fell, staring at his back once again. That moment ... that ephemeral moment he had held her heart in his hands and was faced with two choices – to break it or to heal it. And he had chosen to break it.  
  
  
  
The end. Hahahaha … I'm tired. You guys make me suffer so much ... so at least review! (ignores looks of 'what suffering?!') Or, :sly grin: email me at angelight97@yahoo.com! :D Yours, Angel. 


	4. Babysitting the Thief

Disclaimer: I don't own Gundam Wing or Sailor Moon, but my mom does. Want autographs? Have your people contact my people and we'll work something out. ^_~

Warnings: Out of character Hiiro. Not exactly for romantic reasons though. Kinda more like for my happiness reasons. Don't glare at me. An unhappy writer does not write. ****

Hope you enjoy! ^^

…………………

She didn't sleep well. No, this bunny did _not _sleep well. And when she didn't sleep well, agitation arose in place of the standard crabbiness. So she was left to ponder, to try to get her mind off the thought that was nagging her and stifling the waves of sleep. She executed intricate math problems well past midnight ... In her head. Without paper.

But even those didn't hold her interest. They led to her reminiscing when she had initially bumped into Duo ... and then even before. She had a terrific life, really. She was a gifted student, compassionate friend, and outgoing on top. Honestly, every teacher was prepared to alter the answer key for her when she got something marked wrong. 

In that aspect, she supposed, self-actualization **[1]** was attained and accepted courteously. Her ethical side chose to plague her though, gouging at her with poison-filled guilt which twisted a pain that couldn't mend or be gotten rid of. Misery wasn't something a doctor could heal, no matter how great of one he is. 

No, she didn't detest herself. One side cherished what she was doing and believed that it was unanimously righteous and proper. After all, wasn't Robin Hood upheld by the common people? 

Robin Hood. That would have to be whom she was trying to impersonate. Not to sound excessively narcissistic, but she had the wits and skill to equal the illustrious hero of lore. And she used it in the same manner. Almost.

In place of stealing from the rich and giving to the poor, she settled with something a little less extreme. Besides, if she did follow Robin's footsteps exactly, tricky questions would be. 

So she settled with simply returning things of value to people whom they were robbed from. She was stealing to combat stealing. Which led to why a darker side was clashing with this bright one. 

She approved of the morbid logic 'an eye for an eye' regardless of her kindergarten teacher's hopeless attempts to clarify to her that returning aggression with more aggression wasn't ethical or smart. She let it devour her wholeheartedly and let it carry her into whatever situation it regarded unjust. 

Another point to make: she wasn't helping these people for free. Once her name got out, people started to _hire _her, almost as if she were some kind of hitman. 

Yes, she had deluded herself into thinking everything she did was in the name of justice. Yes, the people she stole from were truly corrupt ... but did justice ever demand a reward? Did justice simply let itself go for the adrenaline rush? Did justice ever take, say, a few days off? So much for justice.

A gray smudge, that's what she was. An amorphous being with clashing ideals and half-formed thoughts. She was simply a bewildered soul, torn between good and bad, white and black, light and darkness. And it was simply her bad luck that the two forces met in her. Yes, she was simply a puny gray smudge who thought she was the center of the universe.

And then Duo entered her life with quite a flair. He was all her ideals personified. He was untainted. All white, and fighting for justice the way it should be done – as a peace officer. 

After he exited her life, with another flair, a new person was sent to provoke her unanswered questions and wake up the dormant darkness so that it could battle the light in her. What a great guy, huh? 

All truth be told, she felt that Hiiro and she were really two sides of the same coin. Both bearing the insecurities of life but expressing it differently, she by allowing the light to dominate and he by giving in to the darkness. 

So what was the closing verdict? She didn't know. Even white appeared black in darkness and even black was brightened in the light. 

And as previously stated, she didn't sleep well. At all.

…………………

Morning came tapping on her door by way of Hiiro's escalating voice. She tiptoed to the door but not before tripping on a not so conveniently placed electrical wire. Lack of sleep does that to you. 

Peering through the slight crevice left by the closed door, she put her ear next to the finely polished wood and listened. Hard.

"What do you mean not top priority!?" a voice so often empty of emotion threatened to reach shouting level as she watched the vague figure of Hiiro pace back and forth. There was a brief silence as the livid policeman listened to the person on the other side of the conversation impatiently. 

"Well I wasn't the one who was so eager to get her, was I?" The voice snapped and listened some more to what seemed to be an even sharper reply. "Don't answer that," he cut in and paced some more.

"What do you mean a few months? This isn't procedure, you know! I can understand a few days, maybe even a week, but a few months? What is this, a conspiracy?" 

"Yes, yes, I know what that means," he growled and muttered what seemed to be a succession of profanities under his breath. 

"This isn't some kid who got caught stealing candy from a baby! That might warrant a few months but this, I tell you, is the woman who single-handedly stole over a thousand of the world's most precious items! Do you know what that means?! That mea-" He was cut off and appeared to be crossly listening to the other person.

Finally, he bit out, voice sodden with sarcasm, "Yes, I know you're not stupid." 

"I refuse! I'm not acting the part of a babysitter! Hell, I don't get paid as much as one. If you're going to make me a babysitter, I suggest you pay me the salary of one. Plus my current one."

Another pause followed as Hiiro paced another few steps before stopping sharply. "Oh well, thank you. Let me remind you that I'm the only person who has managed to lay a finger on this girl! And let's not forget who your most valuable agent is! I refuse to be stuck in the back seat!" he ranted, throwing hands up in the air. Sighing loudly, he waited for the answer.

"If I don't hear from you then, I'll start planning your murder-"

"Yes, yes, no threatening the commanding officer. Bye-"

"I said _bye!_ Bye! _Goodbye!_" With that, he flipped the cell phone shut and stuck it in his pocket. After pacing a few more steps, he headed towards the kitchen.

Usagi turned ninety degrees to her left and leaned heavily against the door. He still thought of her as the formidable thief she was known as. He felt as if he was babysitting her! As for the rest of the conversation, she didn't make much sense of it, but the two parts she had managed to decipher was more than enough to convince her of something – she was not going to get attached to the stupid policeman.

_And why the hell did he call himself an agent? _a small voice in the back of her mind wondered ponderously.

He had no right! Acting as if he were constantly withdrawn from the world and then speaking paragraphs with his boss! He had no right to make her feel guilty and sorry for him! It was unlawful. The idiotic, two-faced, moronic, egghea-

"Hey! Are you awake or not?" an irritated shout came from the opposite side of the door. 

"I'm not!" she shot back with the same amount of irritability. However, nothing prepared her for what happened next. He stormed in, eyes smoldering vividly and mouth drawn in a thin line. 

Grabbing her shoulders, he continued walking until her back was to the wall, glaring at her the whole way. Sky-blue eyes glared back obstinately.

"Just _what _do you think you're doing?" she snarled, eyes shifting from one hand on shoulder to the other before turning back to a darkened gaze. 

His eyes fluttered shut as he leaned closer and forcefully pressed his lips to hers. One hand moved up to finger her hair while another stroked her cheek as he continued to deprive her of oxygen.

Finally, after an eternity of his passion and her immobility, he shifted back and looked at her. Her lips were bruised, cheeks flushed, and eyes closed, lashes brushing against her own skin. And her brow was puckered with fury. 

The next thing he knew, he was staring at her in shock, hand reaching up to touch the highly sore spot on a smooth, right cheek. 

"You're an idiot, Yui! Sure, just get all moody yesterday, lifting my hopes and then crushing them! And then what do I wake up to today? Your ranting to your boss! As if you're actually not traumatized like the lost, little boy you acted like yesterday! And now you expect me to forgive and forget by forcing me to kiss you?! You think this is what I want?! I'll show you what I want!" And with that, she aimed a slap at his other cheek. Though not effectively. He caught her wrist before her hand made harsh contact so that her fingers brushed uselessly against smooth skin.

"I did _not_ act yesterday. Naturally, I'm fine with arguing with my boss, but I'm not okay with sharing meals with my best friend's murderer. Got it?" he growled, voice no longer expressive, eyes even darker than before, and hand with the power to snap her forearm gripping it so tightly that she thought for sure he would.

But her pride didn't let her leave off there. She aimed her other hand at his already afflicted right cheek and heard a satisfying smack. 

"Oh yeah? And exactly why are you _baby-sitting _me, as you so put it?"

A blink met her question and suddenly the old Hiiro was back, and random, raging emotions were once again sealed away. 

"The bastard said we're low on money and the trip to New York has been delayed until further notice. This hotel room is good for about another month, and then we'll be left to fend for ourselves," he answered calmly, letting go of her arm and stepping back several paces to a distance of formality.

"I'm going out for a walk," she muttered and stomped past him. Swinging the door open, she heard a mumbled sentence from the abandoned person in the room and turned. "What?" 

He cleared his throat uncomfortably and stumbled out an, "I'm sorry … Usagi." 

The fair-headed girl paused a moment in uncertainty, noting that that was the first time those lips had ever uttered her name. Finally, she aimed a glance edged with steel at him and stormed out the door, swinging it shut after her. 

Impatient footfalls ensued before pausing. Not long after, they grew louder, heading back in his direction. The blonde appeared again at the door, huffing with rage at the failure of her dramatic exit.

"I need to change," she mumbled uncomfortably, looking down at the airy shift she sported. 

He felt a smirk dawn on his face.

…………………

Don't tell me – Hiiro's out of character. I tried to explain it! It's just that, I find it more entertaining this way rather than keeping him as he is – the unemotional ingrate with the perfect monotone and killer looks (pun intended). So. Yeah. This is what resulted. Live with it, people. ^^ Anyhow, please leave a review or email me at angelight97@yahoo.com! Yours, Angel. ^_~

Notes:

1. Self-actualization. Something I picked up from health class. :P Means to feel contented with one's life up to that point. 

__


	5. As the Saftey Clicked Off

Disclaimer: I don't own either Gundam Wing or Sailor Moon. Sorry if you were hoping to buy either from me. Lol.

Editors: Did I scare you guys? Lol. I should have. ^_~ Thanks, as always, for your input, Usagi Asia Maxwell, Autumn Hime, Lady Artemis, and DevilsDarling.

Warnings: Compared to my existing fics, this is dark and a bit … I don't know … angst-y? ::shrugs:: I just know that it contains quite a bit of conflict and detailed mentioning of firearms. Not humorous (?) like the last chapter. At all. Next chapter will be darker though. Lol.

Happy holidays everybody and don't forget to review! Please? ^_____~

****

As the Safety Clicked Off…

There was a fine line between duty and pleasure, and he had cause to believe he had just crossed it. The tug-o-war between the conflicting sides was painful and difficult, but at that exact moment, pleasure allowed a burst of energy and tugged until the flag reached over the line. Not enough to win the war, mind you, but definitely a turn of events to be regarded with distrust. 

He was having more fun than he should on this mission, and once he got back to headquarters, he was sure certain people would have a few things to say about THAT.

His duty as a FBI agent was to take the battle with one Tsukino Usagi to the next level and rid the common people's minds of the need to worry about thievery from at least one person. The job was easy enough, something that his superiors had reason to count as a solo mission, but also difficult enough for all lower levels of law enforcement to fail and for HE himself to be the person it was assigned to.

But she didn't need to know that. She didn't need to know that he was part of the Federal Bureau of Investigation. And she most definitely didn't need to know she was dragging him down under dark waters in unfamiliar territory, emotion-wise.

Even he didn't need to know that.

…………………

Summer had refused to relinquish its hold upon the earth without one last dazzling display of colors. Burnt orange, fiery red, and soft yellow fell around her as she strolled along the park, perhaps the only place that could come close to a sanctuary in as hectic a city as Calais. After you ignored the careless litter, of course.

She eyed the children playing hopscotch on the already cold ground but looked away when one of their parents quirked a smile towards her. What had this world come to? And since when had it shifted from the simple black and white her idealistic mind had imagined when she had went into her occupation? 

Hiiro had good reason to let her go off alone – she would have fairly ripped his head off if he had insisted on coming. And it wasn't as if Artemis was in the vicinity with her passport and a private jet ready. Usagi sighed and looked upwards at fluffy clouds.

There was no turning back. Her footsteps had long since been cast in stone, and the future was shrouded in a hazy fog. She was utterly completely lost, having forgotten to drop breadcrumbs that would lead her back to the comfort of her previous life. She was grasping for something … but what? Fame? Reasonable enough had she not known she was not that kind of person. Love? We all saw how well she succeeded at THAT. The truth? Truth was subjective in her world.

The garden path underneath her feet split into a fork, and she stared numbly at the dull pavement. How ironic. How utterly ironic. Must everything in life remind her of her own predicament? The road of her life spread in front of her, both options ending in dark shadow.

She sighed and pondered the road not taken.

…………………

The door clicked open shortly after she slid her card-key into the slot. She stepped in nearly inaudibly and left her shoes neatly by the doormat. Moonlight stained the thick carpet through filmy curtains, and all was silent save the gentle tick-ticking of the clock.

The shadows shifted, and she jumped. The light flipped on to reveal Hiiro leaning against the wall. She couldn't tell whether or not he was alert – his posture remained innocuous, but she had many a reason to question the appearance of things. 

"H-Hiiro."

Dark eyes snapped open, and he stood, shooting her a cold look. She froze, eyes wide, and regarded him carefully. Something had definitely happened, and it wasn't particularly good either.

"You're under house arrest until further notice," he spat out, tone unrelenting. Her heart rose to her throat and thumped in her head like a frightened rabbit's. Anger and disbelief fueled its quick tempo.

"What?"

"You heard me."

Eyes flickering angrily, she marched up to his stiff figure and glared. Jabbing an accusing finger in front of his face, she quietly argued, "You have no right to-"

He snatched her hand away from his face, fist clenching around her wrist. "I think you have forgotten the current state of matters." Her entire body froze as she stared at him, nothing but his words and the dull thump of her heart in her ears reaching her mind.

"All right then." She refused to tremble and whimper in his presence. The hand around her wrist was threateningly close to snapping it, but she pretended as if the thought never occurred to her. As if a broken wrist meant nothing to her. As if a shattering of the heart never came to pass.

"Your room is that way."

His statement flew by without an answer. "But tell me about this delay. Why are they not sending a flight over until perhaps months later?"

"None of your business."

Brushing past a bristling blonde, he grabbed a large paper bag from against the wall and walked into her room. Despite herself, she was curious and upon entering the room after him, her eyes caught sight of a small stack of wooden boards. Loud hammering echoed in the room as Hiiro adjusted the nail and aimed, sealing the window.

"Isn't this vandalism?"

The abrupt answer was, "It's not out of my pocket."

"Don't you trust me?"

"No."

With one last bang, the last nail dug into the wood, and he turned around. "There is an alarm system even if you break through this," he warned frostily before exiting.

"Scared?" she mocked, a familiar smirk forming over her face.

Arctic eyes turned to her as he pursed his lips. "No."

The door closed and in the silence, the click of the lock sounded awfully like the release of the safety.

She felt the metaphorical firearm, cold, against her temple.

…………………

The moon looked caged outside her window, and she sighed into the oppressing darkness, threatening to suffocate her. This wasn't her style. Sitting and waiting was not the style of any sane person hunted by the entire law enforcement organization.

Creeping up out of her bed, sliding silently out from under the covers, she crept up to the door and pressed her ear to it. All was quiet except the gentle whispering of her breath. She pulled a hairpin out of her hair and twisted it out of its proper shape. A rather crude lock-pick but it would have to do. 

Sticking it into the aperture of the doorknob, she started twisting it around, getting a feel of the make of the lock. It wasn't a big surprise when, not half a minute later, the lock clicked open. After all, what use would hotels have with high security locks?

She paused again, breath now coming out in anxious gasps as she pressed her ear to the door. It made no sound as she opened it.

A scream was quashed in her throat.

A figure leaned against the wall but made no movement as she stepped out, adrenaline pumping through her veins. Hiiro's unmoving figure rested against the wall, his arms crossed of his chest and his eyes closed, expression indiscernible.

_Probably asleep._

Breathing a thank you upwards, she sneaked over towards his room and repeated the lock-picking session, already familiar enough with the design for it to take next to no time. The door opened as silently as her own, and she slipped inside, eyes darting around the room. She felt under the pillow of the bed and smiled as her fingers connected with cold metal.

Sleek black glanced in the moonlight as she stared at it. 

_Perfect._

The Colt 0.45-calibre automatic, standard of U.S. law enforcement, felt heavy in her hands next to her own preferred S&W 3913/14, but it would get the job done easily. 

Swiping the pillow off of the bed, her smile widened at the sight of a Glock 17. She tucked it into her clothing, hiding it on her person and attempted to get a better grip on the Colt.

After checking the magazine* to make sure it was loaded, she silently slipped back out the door. The hall was still deathly still, and Hiiro's figure remained peaceful and tranquil. A tidal wave of guilt pulsed over her, and she gulped quietly, trying to subdue it.

As it receded slightly, questions of morality were scattered on the shore. She had decided a long time ago that all that she would do from that point on would not be right but definitely something that needed to be done if she wanted to live … survival of the fittest, right?

As for emotions … she really didn't want to even think about them. Emotions, according to her, simply didn't figure into the equation. Not for this kind of a situation. Sure he was Duo's friend … so what? Sure he had been oddly nice to her the past few days … so what? Sure he deserved to live but …

_So what?_

…………………

Panic flooded her mouth with a bitter taste. Where was Usagi? Where the HELL was Usagi?!

The two guards constantly surrounding her had long since departed to get some rest at her own request, and Artemis had already disappeared with a sympathetic smile. But the silver-haired man was already used to this type of thing happening and showed nothing beyond professional sympathy. Usagi was his favorite and most talented but … his heart was encased in ice. He couldn't afford to feel compassion any longer. She understood that but…

Sighing, she leaned back in the expensive leather chair and rubbed her temples. The New York nightscape shone brightly behind her, lighting the dark office. Her computer provided the other light. 

She had tried everything – emailing, checking all known tracks of the blonde but had come up with nothing. _Nothing. _Artemis had helped her, of course but … Usagi wasn't necessarily under his care any longer. She was under hers … and Lord did she make a mess of it all.

What could have happened to her? The only option remaining was … she didn't want to think of it.

Her last choice was simply to call the blonde via her cell phone, but by now, if her hypothesis was correct, the phone would already be in the wrong hands and if not, would at least be tapped.

She didn't need that burden upon her shoulders especially with the current state of matters. But…

Resting her head on her folded arms, she sighed into the darkness. Who knew justice was so difficult to achieve? …why did the police believe that Usagi was necessarily criminal? Did they not get the general gist of her actions? Were they blind? Usagi was doing the world a favor in _her_ stead. Usagi was right. 

She had to be.

…………………

The weapon suddenly felt slippery in her hands as she nervously licked her lips. _What was the hold-up?_ her mind screamed, but she ignored it. The fork in the road was becoming distinctly clear as her footsteps carried her closer and closer and closer…

She switched the pistol to the other hand and wiped the original with the leg of her pants before switching it back. Her footsteps halted as she breathed into the dense darkness, eyes very barely glimmering in what little moonlight was available. His form stood before her, so utterly defenseless and innocent that tears pricked her eyes.

It was not wise to press the gun against his temple or any of that melodramatic junk. He might wake up at the touch of the cold metal, and she would simply receive a quick death.

Gulping down another wave of tears, she sighed inaudibly and grinned sarcastically to herself. _My first murder and already of an officer…_

Her heart trembled in her chest, but she refused to quell under the wish to forget about the whole deal and leave the unarmed officer alone. The safety switched off with a dull click. Her hand was so close to his face that she could almost feel the heat emanating from him.

She took careful aim at his throat…

…and pulled the trigger.

…………………

Ah, so our little bunny is a bit violent, isn't she? I'm in a weird mood, stay faaaar, faaaaar away. ^_~ Thanks for sticking with this fic! Yours, Angel.


	6. Innocence

Disclaimer: Gundam Wing? Sailor Moon? What are those? _What're you writing about?_ you ask? Hmm … see there's this guy named Hiiro Yui and then there's the girl named Usagi Tsukino and-oh-guess what? I invented them! HA! Blame it on the fever.

Thanks to my editors DevilsDarling, Usagi Asia Maxwell, Autumn Hime, and Lady Artemis for the various corrections of grammar mistakes that you no longer have to suffer due to their diligence. Really, _you_ should be thanking them. Lol.

Thanks to Callisto for advice regarding plot. If you hate this fic, blame it on her. : P

Callie: Hey!

Angel: Haha ... you can beat me up later. ;D

****

Chapter Five: Innocence

He booted up his computer and flipped through his planner, ignoring the flashing screen and crunching sounds of the just-turned on machine. Cat-like green eyes barely glanced up as a copy of the morning paper was dropped onto his desk.

_Usagi was still missing._

He frowned at the sudden thought and shook his head. There was obviously no use in avoiding the inevitable _need_ to at least find out what became of her … however difficult the result might be to handle.

Jade green eyes blinked tiredly and turned upwards to stare at the bare patch of wall next to the heavy door to his office. Everything around him fell under the soft glow of the timid winter sun, and it suddenly wasn't a wonder that the building was half-sarcastically nicknamed Innocence by the feds a few years back. The name had stuck, and from then on the building of the most organized, most ruthless corporation of "criminals" became known as Innocence to all who referred to it.

"S-sir," was hesitantly stuttered into the cool room. The thermostat was purposely set at a low temperature to enhance vigilance. After all, there was no need to fall asleep on the job.

His eyebrow arched at the young man in front of him, nervous and stuttering, clearly a new recruit. 

"Y-you-"

"Out with it," he uttered coldly, frowning but rapidly loosing interest. 

The brunette in front of him gulped. "You should look at page A3."

The arched eyebrow never faltered as he slowly reached for the paper and irreverently unfolded it to said page. His insides turned to ice at the dispassionate, bold words. 

"A-am I dismissed?" reminded him that he still had company.

He folded the paper back calmly. "Dial me the second number on the client list."

"Y-yes sir!"

Shooting a glare to his desktop screen that had finished loading, he rubbed his eyes with the heels of his palms, hatred bubbling up like venom in his system. 

…………………

A blonde head poked into her office. "Miss, there's a call for you on line two."

She nodded gently. "Thank you. I'll take it now."

"Hello?" she inquired into the phone.

"Look in the morning paper." She instantly recognized the voice and glanced up to see the face she was expecting on the vid-com.

Frowning, she argued, "I already did."

"Look," Artemis insisted, and she sighed tiredly.

"It's too early in the morning for one of your pranks, Artemis," she warned, calling her secretary back into the room with a ding of the bell atop her desk.

"Miss?"

"Could you fetch me the morning paper again? Please?"

Dark brown eyes blinked confusedly at her as the petite woman stepped fully into the room. "But I thought you had already read it…"

"Apparently not well enough," she sighed and shot her an inquiring look. The blonde nodded and stepped back outside.

She turned back to the phone in her hand, barely glancing at the silver-haired man's pale and serious face on the screen. She hated it when he looked that grave and, well, deadly. Usagi had always been the one to bring out the better part of him. Honestly, one could hardly recognize him when he was in the company of his favorite. In his eyes, the bright-eyed girl could do no wrong.

"So what's this all about?" She leaned back in her chair and gazed expectantly at the face in front of her on the vid-com. Something that she thought would never appear on Artemis' face flitted over his features - hesitation. 

An enigmatic reply answered her. "You'll see."

…………………

Wufei checked the weapons on his body, feeling the comforting knives strapped to the sides of his legs and checking the three handguns tucked into various hidden pockets of his jacket. It seemed awfully like overkill, but one could never be too sure when dealing with New York's and possibly the whole nation's most notorious organization of criminals.

He glanced to his side to meet one calculating emerald eye, glinting in the hotel room. Trowa Barton leaned against the painting-covered wall, distant, wary, and prepared. He didn't fidget under his partner's dark, sidelong gaze. "I've had questions regarding this mission," the auburn-haired man started.

His Asian partner next to him snorted. "Well, I'm obviously not the person to ask."

Trowa shifted. 

"What, you getting cold feet, Barton?" 

He chose to ignore the taunt. "Have you ever researched Artemis' little organization?"

Wufei snorted again. "Of course."

"No, I mean outside of the information the government allowed."

A wary, ebony eyebrow raised. "As in…"

Trowa shrugged, suddenly regretting ever bringing up the subject. He should have known Wufei was not the one to target with his suspicions - the Chinese agent was far too devoted to the government to side with him. But there was hope … perhaps. "Rumors, snatches of conversations here and there."

"Gossip is not a reliable source of information, Barton," the dark-haired man sneered at him, folding his arms over his toned chest. "If you're nervous, just admit it. No need inventing some fancy little story."

"People have been speculating that Artemis' group is actually, in their own twisted way, trying to right wrongs. And they seem to be doing a much better job than we are."

Obsidian eyes hardened as Wufei's features darkened, "What are you saying, Barton? That you owe more allegiance to this … this sophisticated _gang _than to the law?"

"Have you ever looked into the crimes?"

"They're crimes. What's to look into?"

"The purposes. Especially that Tsukino girl's - they were all _returning _items to their proper owners. And the victims of the returning crimes weren't particularly spotless either-"

"I'll give you the chance to shut up now, and I won't report this," he growled. Silence followed not long after the threat as Trowa looked away.

"Now, what are the plans for tonight? Innocence isn't a particularly easy place to get into."

…………………

Dread pulled at her heart as she flipped open the paper Karen handed back to her, slightly wrinkled from the previous, rushed going over. 

"A3."

She flipped there, and her heart stopped. The hand tapping idly on the surface of the desk froze in mid-tap, and she gaped at the words in front of her. 

"Artemis-"

Cool green eyes stared back at her. "Don't look at me. I don't know a thing."

"B-but … how could she have? She was the best! Hiiro Yui may be good but … he's not capable of getting to her so easily!"

"She was distracted."

Frowning at the electronic image, she drew her lips into a thin line. "Distracted?"

"Duo Maxwell."

"She … oh Lord … she _didn't!_"

His grim reflection flickered on the screen. "She did."

…………………

Artemis' insides were literally boiling with anger, but his exterior remained cool and calm, a façade needed to reassure the person in front of him. She didn't need even more stress upon her shoulders.

The nerve of that Hiiro Yui! The nerve of the entire government! Didn't they realize the people inside the walls of Innocence were doing the world a favor?! And especially … his eyes narrowed. _Treize. _The bastard must be fuming to be so close to Innocence yet utterly unable to undermine or end it in any way. It must've made him look pretty bad in the eyes of HIS superiors. 

But that Yui boy. Of course Innocence had kept tabs on him. He was dangerous, ruthless, and recently, found out through private sources, an ex-Gundam pilot. There were a lot of things to be in awe of and to be wary of … but … but Usagi could have handled him! _Usagi should never have been caught in the first place!_ Damn that Duo Maxwell.

The instant he got his hands on Hiiro Yui, the FBI agent was going to be BEGGING to die.

…………………

"So what are we going to do?" echoed forlornly in her head but came out softly into the phone. 

Artemis sighed. "We're going to have to let her go … there's not much we CAN do."

Her eyes flashed at him. "We _can't _let her go! I have an obligation to her! And do you KNOW what her absence from your life will _do_ to you?! It'll drive you INSANE! SHE is the sunlight in your life! Admit it!" Her heart was pounding excitedly at her throat, and she had long since stood up in order to intimidate.

Oddly enough, no backlash followed as she had imagined, confirming her fears of the silver-haired man's slow despair after the news. "I don't know. We have to get more information. But _you_ have to stay where you are. Make no sudden moves. You're in no position to help."

"Tell me something I _don't_ know," she sighed bitterly and sat back down. 

…………………

The shot rang out sharply in the hotel air. She had closed her eyes, not wanting to see him fall limply, but after the slight daze following the action, she became aware of something. Something very wrong. 

Pain clutched at the hand that grasped the gun and traveled down her arm in tremors. 

"Took you long enough to decide whether or not to shoot," broke the silence. 

Sky blue eyes flashed open with panic. "I-" Hiiro's dark gaze remained on her. She put two and two together and finally understood. 

The gun remained in her hand, smoking slightly from the recent shot, but _his_ hand had tightened around her own, forcing the gun upwards. The bullet had veered and instead only brushed past the side of his face. Crimson dripped from the flesh wound and splattered noiselessly on his sleeveless top. 

"You'll never succeed."

Anger rose to her throat. "Oh yeah?"

He shrugged. "Try all you like."

In an instant, she pulled her hand from his grip and shot out blindly. He cursed and dodged to the best of his ability. The bullet lodged somewhere in his left arm, really pretty pathetic aim, on her part, at point blank range. 

She ran.

…………………

Ah, I do truly love this fic. Lol. There are a few … interesting twists planned. Hopefully, you will not anticipate them … and, as always, thanks for bearing with me past the endless dialogue. You know I don't do it on purpose, right? ^_~ Yours, Angel. 


	7. Sound Advice

Disclaimer: Don't own Gundam Wing. Don't own Sailor Moon. I did in a past life, but I abused that right and tortured fanfiction authors so … what goes around comes around, huh? ^_~

Thanks for my lovely editors Usagi Asia Maxwell, Lady Artemis, DevilsDarling, and Autumn Hime … they taught me how to say "lovely". :sigh: Thanks to my lovely editors for SOME things. Lol.

****

Chapter 6: Sound Advice

Relena fiddled with her hair and glanced down at the notecards in her hands. There had been an ongoing, recent debate on the inefficiency of the law enforcement corporation and many toes had been stepped on. The debate organized as a series of speeches was monitored by all major broadcasting stations.

The entire audience and possibly every viewer in front of their TVs had paid rapt attention as Abkar Manson, the affluent President of the Earth Sphere Unified Nation defended the law department and as Head of Preventers Une tracked the efforts of the department through the last few decades, indicating the steep incline. The affirmative had had their turn and now the opposing spoke. Quatre Winner, leader of L4 and trusted spokesperson for the colonies went first, noting the recent stagnation of attempts to prevent crime to the point where Innocence, the criminal organization of New York, was more organized and deadly than the ESUN FBI, CIA, and Preventers.

A young intern cued her at five minutes before Quatre drew to an end, and she nodded back, hands slightly clammy from nervousness. No one would have expected that Relena Darlian, Vice Foreign Minister and supporter of absolute pacifism to be on the opposing side. No one would have expected Relena Darlian to also use the prime example of Innocence. But it was time to change the people's minds.

She stepped forward into the bright lights, scanning the crowd gathered and ignoring the various stations not so discreetly taping her every movement.

…………………

The cold winter air traveled in and out of her tired lungs as she sprinted down the streets of Calais, dodging wary and shocked pedestrians. Her breath became labored, but her mind remained strangely blank and calm. She knew it. She knew there was no escaping. Not like this, at least. Hiiro would be able to catch up to her in a matter of minutes. The Glock she had stuck in her jacket's pocket thumped against her side as she turned a corner and plowed onwards.

Her legs stopped straining, and she slowed down to a stop. What was she doing? There was no point in wasting energy and igniting anger like this. Unless Artemis just so happened to be strolling down the streets and had a private helicopter parked somewhere close by, only one thing could come as a result of this excursion – Hiiro would have a reason to take her to New York sooner.

A sound from behind her caused her to jerk and turn. Hiiro's gun was trained on her – the same gun that had caused the no longer bleeding wound on the side of his face and the hurriedly bandaged one on his left arm. 

"You're coming back with me."

Her hands slowly raised up in a gesture of defeat. "Why don't you just end it now? You'll save us both a lot of trouble," she uttered softly, voice laced with brooding fury.

He didn't answer.

"Treize will forgive you. You can tell him I was trying to escape-"

"Come back with me," he cut through her words smoothly, unaffected by them. 

She met his gaze unwaveringly, determination obviously flashing in lively blue eyes. "I won't give up."

"Hn."

She didn't bother to resist when his free hand grabbed her wrist and the other moved to holster the gun.

They gathered odd glances – the forlorn girl with downcast blue eyes and the man who wore a sleeveless shirt at the onset of winter, scarlet seeping through the makeshift bandage on his arm.

…………………

Trowa turned and glanced out at the street from the shadows of the dark alley. Wufei's voice, covered with static, came from the earpiece at his right ear. He cocked his head.

"Target sighted. Sector H 26. Walking in a northerly direction."

Thank goodness that wasn't far. He sighed and launched off from the ground onto the relatively low roof in front of him and headed in that direction. 

…………………

The walk back to the private hotel was silent but not in a necessarily bad way. The silence wasn't angry or even tension-filled. It was simply … vacant.

She felt tears sting the corners of her eyes and pursed her lips angrily. This was all her fault. All her fault for falling in love with Duo and all her fault for ignoring Artemis' sensible advice. 

"Are we going to eat soon?" The question was laughable and childish, light-hearted against the situation that was going on.

"I'll order room service. Take your pick." The door swung open, and she stepped in first.

…………………

"Took you long enough, Barton," was the irritated greeting the serious-looking, ebony-haired man shot him as he turned slightly, glancing at the new arrival who had slipped into the shadows behind him.

"Hn."

"He's about three seconds from this alleyway. I'll tail him, and you can head onwards."

An emerald eye flashed at him warningly. "Don't do anything rash."

Wufei snorted. "Same to you."

"Got it," he grunted shortly before flipping upwards onto the adjacent roof again and running silently onwards. Even with shades and a raven wig over his striking silver hair, Artemis was not a person who could be easily missed.

…………………

Artemis paused in his tracks and looked into a window displaying cheap trinkets. Sharp emerald eyes barely noticed the proud parade of baubles and instead scanned the faintly reflecting window, showing him a glimpse at the people behind him.

That man again!

A tall, brunette man with hair styled to one side strolled by behind him, barely glancing anywhere but forwards. He was definitely being followed.

Scowling at his own disguised reflection, he mentally shook his head. This wasn't a good turn of events. He desperately needed to talk to her, but she was in absolutely no position for the world to know of her role in Innocence. He couldn't afford letting ESUN be made aware of anybody's relations to Innocence other than his and Usagi's.

Meeting her was no longer a valid option.

_Sorry, _he whispered to her as if she could hear, knowing he was wasting her valuable time. 

The scowl vanished as he turned and pressed onwards, choosing a roundabout way back to Innocence. The people following him were going to be in for a LONG wild-goose chase.

…………………

After getting off of the phone with room service, Hiiro started rummaging through the cupboards, looking for spoon, forks, etc. She watched him silently from the couch, rubbing her horribly abused wrist absentmindedly. He finally stopped moving and whirled around to glare at her. 

"What do you want?"

She blinked at the sudden change of moods, mentally smiling to herself. _So Hiiro Yui has a weakness after all._

"Are you mad at me?" she questioned softly, eyes not wavering from his. A silent staring contest ensued. One that Hiiro lost after his eyes finally flicked sideways, and he let go of a frustrated, half-angry sigh. 

"Yes and no."

"Yes and no?"

"I understand why you would want to leave, but I asked you to stay."

She laughed bitterly. "Asked me to stay, huh?" He didn't reply immediately, and she continued. 

"Your definition of asking somebody to stay must be horribly warped if you think forced house arrest is within the confines of _asking_ somebody to stay."

"Hn."

She crossed her arms over her chest grumpily. "Hn yourself." **[1]**

The doorbell rang.

…………………

"Barton, is it just me or have we been down this street already?" crackled into his ear. 

"This is useless. He already knows we're following him."

Wufei remained silent. 

"But that would mean this person with whom he's meeting is of utmost importance and that his identity is not one to be revealed to the public…"

"That's not much help. Innocence is known for the reliability and confidentiality they offer to the clients," Wufei mused quietly. 

Silence ensued again as the two agents continued trailing the leisurely walking man.

"You sure this isn't just some type of stroll, Wufei?" Trowa offered sarcastically.

"Innocence sighted to your right."

"Damn it. He was just playing with us all along!"

…………………

Usagi eyed Hiiro quietly over her barely touched deli sandwich before taking another tentative bite and setting it down. 

"Why are you being so nice to me?" she finally asked. He glanced up at her before looking aside. 

"Within mission parameters."

"What?" she uttered dumbly, blinking.

"I'm not assigned to carry out punishment. It's my mission to get you there safely," he paused before adding in a low voice that sent shivers down her spine, "and I've never failed a mission."

Usagi shook her blonde head. "You miss the point. I understand that much but … in the beginning. With the dessert? And the … and the…" _Kiss _stuck at her throat and refused to budge. She sipped shakily at her water, trying to swallow it back down.

Silence reigned for so long that she thought he had decided to ignore the question.

"Don't concern yourself with things that will get you in trouble."

"Sound advice," she retorted coolly.

…………………

Hmm … it would appear that I'm stuck. The next major level/plot occurrence is too far into the story, and I have nothing to fill in the gap. :sigh: Anyhow, thanks for coping with my vindictive mood lately … and thanks for keeping up with this fic even after that lag in updates … Lol. I'm horrible, aren't I? Yeah, well, I love you too. ^_~ Yours, Angel.

Notes:

1. "Hn yourself" I think it's obvious where this came from, if you had read the fic before – Jemjol's Awaiting Good Fortune. I'm terribly sorry, but I ~really~ couldn't resist. ^^;;;

Ishtar: I'm flattered! Thanks for the review! ^^

Callisto: **glomps** Callie! You have ~such~ a way with words! I'm blushing. ^^ And Arty-chan ~is~ different, isn't he? ~sigh~ It works. Arrogant Hiiro … lol. I like. ^^ The lady is- Just kidding. ^___~ Would you believe me if I told you I haven't checked my mail in a while? ~blushes~ Editing can wait until next weekend, right? I'm terribly sorry!

Lady Espelle: Thank you! It's my favorite right now … but I think that's only because my favorite is always the one I'm working on. ^^

Lilaclight: Darien? Hmm … not sure he's going to contribute any more to the fic. Doubt it but … ideas come and go. ^^ 

Raye: Wow. Thank you for the compliment. It was cliffhanger? Lol. I don't think a lot of people noticed. -___-;;;

Evil Eyez: I'm going to be utterly evil through and through for the entire fic. It plays with your mind a lot … :D Here's the update. ^^

Kaiki: ~blinks~ **I **don't know who the lady is! ^____~ **clamps mouth shut** I can't **really** answer those questions without giving a bunch of the plot away … lol. ^^ It's pretty hard to believe Hiiro still loves her … lol … but I'm not sure the information that he loved her was very well established the first time around either. Lol. ^^ Sorry. I'm baiting you. ^_____^

Serena Yuy: Thanks for the compliments and review! ^^

Obsessed: Eh heh heh … is this making up for it? ^^


	8. Threats and Fabrications

Disclaimer: Don't own either Gundam Wing or Sailor Moon.

Thanks goes to Ashika for editing each paragraph so thoroughly. Thanks! ^^

****

Chapter 7: Threats and Fabrications

The cell phone next to him buzzed annoyingly into his ear, persistent and disruptive in the smooth darkness. He snatched it up and held it to his face, fumbling to press the correct button. The small screen lighted as he finally found _talk_ and groggily held the phone up to his ear, sitting up and accidentally banging his head against the wall.

"Damn it, Yui! Pick up the-" screamed into his ear before his caller realized the call had been received.

"Treize."

"Colonel Khushrenada to you," the refined voice snapped in a clumsy attempt to cover up his previous blunder.

"Hn."

A sigh greeted his drowsy mind. "I suppose that's the best I can get out of you, huh, Yui?"

"Hn."

Another sigh.

"So, Yui. You wouldn't know anything about a dessert shop around the corner of your street, would you?" His boss's smooth voice was too nonchalant for his liking. 

"Hn."

"Would that be a yes, Yui?"

"Why do you care?"

"Call it curiosity."

"Curiosity killed the cat."

Treize smiled to himself. "But satisfaction brought it back."

He was backed into a corner. "I have scoped out the surrounding area, yes. Why?"

"Nothing, nothing." A cough sounded in the phone. "And you wouldn't know why connections have reported seeing you and a certain blonde prisoner going for a midnight snack and then walking away from the city, would you?"

Silence.

"And you wouldn't happen to have an explanation for just WHY that connection has also told of the following day spent with previously mentioned prisoner eating and talking, would you?"

Again, silence.

"And of course you would be mortified to hear that the connection DARED to even SUGGEST that the two of you were sighted yet AGAIN yesterday, walking the streets of Calais, after said prisoner … dare I say it? … ESCAPED from the undefeatable Yui?"

He started cursing to himself.

Treize laughed casually. "But it would be downright idiotic to even THINK of believing that Agent Hiiro Yui would be so blatantly violating the rules set by the ESUN government." Threat laced with amusement in his voice. "Wouldn't it, Yui?" The last words came out gently and in a self-possessed manner, each syllable stressed upon with delicate care.

He gathered his wits and thought quickly. "Stop toying with me, Treize."

"No, not toying. More like threatening." A definite note of amusement was lying under his superior officer's voice.

"Threatening?" The word came out softly but under it were ten thousand meanings.

"Think of it as a warning, Yui. I've put up with your little escapades for long enough."

"Hn."

A low chuckle. "This government holdup with the lack of funding due to the current debate won't last more than a month or so. The hotel should hold well until then … I shudder to think what you would come to if you no longer had the hotel … let her go, perhaps? Tap into her funds, m-"

"Shut up, Khushrenada."

Another smattering of laughter. "Let's not forget who the commanding officer is here, Yui."

He rolled his eyes but mentally sighed in relief. The noose around his neck loosened. "Whatever. Just get your little toadies out of this country."

"No promises, Yui." He could almost hear Treize smirking at his own silent fuming. "Sleep well," the velvety voice taunted into his ear.

"Sweet dreams," he bit back and flipped the cell phone shut. Somehow, the sound of Treize's amused laughter never ceased to echo in his mind.

…………………

Her assigned room was downstairs now, moved because Hiiro had decided he'd rather not sleep leaning against a wall or on the floor. He had shoved a couch into position almost directly in front of her door, against the wall, but still close enough to its original position for a person to easily watch TV. 

Usagi sighed as she rested her head on her folded arms and stared out the window from her seat in front of the small desk in the room. Darkness surrounded her and caressed her pale skin with its soothing fingers.

She stood up in a rustle of cloth and headed towards the door before picking the lock and swinging it open. 

She almost laughed out loud as Hiiro scrambled to sit up from his lying position in order to glare at her blearily. He looked absolutely miserable.

"Relax, Hiiro. I'm sure that when you locked the door, you hadn't realized there wasn't a restroom in that room with me."

The half-defeated look on his face was priceless.

"I figured you'd pick the lock if you needed to get out," he defended.

"Yeah," she trailed, traveling towards the bathroom before completing and utterly changing the meaning of her reply right before closing the door - "…Right." His mind was left with the look of victory that brightened her face. 

He growled, punched the pillow half-heartedly and sat up, running a hand through his hair. He chose to cross his arms over his chest and remain neutral as a flush of the toilet reached his ears and the door creaked open again. What he didn't anticipate was the slight sag of the couch as she sat down next to him. 

"Mind if I join you?"

"Yes."

She smiled as if that was the answer she had wanted all along. Silence blanketed the moonlit darkness around them. 

"Tell me about Innocence."

Silence.

"I know you're awake."

An exasperated sigh filled the silence between them. "Is this some desperate ploy of the government to get information?" 

"Curiosity," he grunted.

"And would everything I say be on the record?" she scoffed.

He sighed. "Off the record."

"Promise?"

"Swear."

"All right then. I just LOVE telling people my life story in the early hours of morning," she laughed. 

"Ever heard of Quatre Winner?"

He snorted.

"Yeah, well, I thought so," she shot back. "He's my brother."

He choked.

"Twin brother." At his raised eyebrow, she continued, leaning back into the sofa and grabbing a pillow to hug to her chest. 

"It's common knowledge that our parents had difficulty producing an heir or even naturally having children. There was this story that came with Quatre and my birth that was repeated over and over again, at every Christmas social and Valentine's luncheon. 

"My parents had tried with the test tube babies numerous times and came up with nothing - all girls, that is. So, while traveling to some vacation spot down in Miami, they were suddenly surrounded by fog and this church appeared out of nowhere. They had just gotten off of I-5 and made a wrong turn somewhere. Mom had been an avid Christian and though Dad never cared, they both decided to stop by the church to ask for directions."

She glanced towards him and smiled at his fixated glare at the blank screen of the TV. "The church doors were open and the instant they went in, a priest greeted them saying, 'My children, I have been expecting you.' 

"Dad tried to explain that they just needed directions. 

"'I have the directions you need.' The minister held up his hand, and they followed him into the sanctuary. Dad was still trying to explain that they only needed to get to I-5. Still, they followed. The church seemed to grow bigger as they walked until it was like St. Patrick's Cathedral."

Hiiro eyed her out of the corner of his eye. He could barely make out her face in the shadow from the moonlight. She stared ahead, repeating the tale like it was a legend, not just some dumb story her parents told.

"'You are troubled, my children?' the minister asked. Dad started to explain again about directions to I-5 but Mom began to cry. In the minister's arms, she repeated the whole pregnancy story, and as she spoke, light began streaming, red, green, purple, and gold through the stained-glass windows. The minister said, 'God has heard.'

"He sent them away without directions. But Dad found I-5 almost immediately, and they made it to their beach house. When they got home, Mom was pregnant. The miracle twins," Usagi indicated herself, "were born nine months later. Funny thing, when they tried to contact that church to make a donation, there wasn't any such church."

"My first ten years, I heard that story, like, a hundred times. Every holiday at the club, every family soiree. Dad and Mom, the perfect parents. And I bought into their story, so I was perfect too. Perfect grades, perfect at ballet. Until sixth grade. It all fell apart. I flunked math. Had to do summer school and couldn't go to this special ballet camp Dad had arranged." She looked out the window. 

"You'd think my perfect father would be a little understanding, but he wasn't. He got so bent out of shape, screaming about school, about me, how stupid I was compared to Quatre, screwing up my chances like that. And finally, I yelled back, 'I don't want to dance ballet anymore ever! I hate it! I hate you!'"

"For weeks, I wouldn't dance. Dad tried punishment, bribes, telling me how much fun it was, comparing me with Quatre and his violin, all the usual parental blackmail. Then he grabbed my collar and told me I'd dance whether I wanted to or not. I ran upstairs, freaked out. He'd never gotten that mad at me before."

"That night, Mom and Dad argued. It was the first time I'd ever heard them fight -- can you believe that? I tried not to listen. But they were yelling so loudly, and at one point, Mom said, 'Give her space! She's not you.'"

Usagi stopped, staring at the ceiling. Seconds, almost a minute, passed. 

Finally, Hiiro said, "What did he say?"

"Forget it," she sighed. "Not important. Just sewage under the bridge. Let's talk about something else." She reached for the remote control.

"Tell me."

Usagi looked at him with darkened blue eyes. "He said, 'I know she's not _me_. She's not even _mine.'"_

Hiiro fought the urge to squirm in his seat and looked away.

"First, I thought it was just something he said," Usagi smiled wistfully. "You know, 'cause he was mad at me. I mean, our lives revolved around each other, including Quatre. He was my DAD, for goodness' sake. But Mom didn't answer. That freaked me and Quatre, who had came into my room, out. She was always talking lawyer talk, about defending yourself, silence as an admission of guilt. But when he said that, she was silent. Finally, she laughs and says, 'So, she screws up and she's my kid?'

"But it was too late. Dad said, 'I know. I've always known. I can't father children, and I don't believe in miracles. So I had us tested. All three of us. Neither Quatre nor Usagi were mine.'

Silence.

"Quatre and I were in the hall by then, listening, ready to leap if the doorknob turned. But it didn't. Mom started sobbing, saying it wasn't true. But finally, she confessed. It was someone from her office, didn't mean anything. 'Can't you see, honey? It was the only way.' But Dad wasn't listening. He was out of there."

"He came back, of course. But everything had changed. I wasn't a miracle. I wasn't golden. Quatre might have been."

"And I knew neither Quatre nor I could screw up again. We had to stay ... perfect or it would all fall apart. He'd stop even _pretending_ to be our dad. The ironic thing is, Dad and I got closer after that, closer than even him and Quatre. Mom went back to work that year, so Dad cut his hours to spend time at home, watch me dance, listen to Quatre play ... fulfill his expectations of what his children should be, even though we weren't his."**[1]**

More silence.

Usagi shrugged. "But in the end, I ended up running away, and Quatre ended up as the model child. Dad erased all records of an Usagi Tsukino so I was completely forgotten. My name as a criminal didn't even start traveling about until after Mom and Dad died. Quatre … I don't even want to know what Quatre thinks.

"So in the end I met up with Artemis and became part of Innocence, returning stolen valuables … for a fee, of course." She sighed and chanced another peek at his profile.

"That's some story," he finally replied.

"Off the record?"

"Off the record."

She smiled. "So tell me about you. To return the favor."

"Not much to tell."

"Tell me what there is to tell then."

"I don't know anything about my past up to age eight. A scientist, code-named J, raised me afterwards to become the perfect fighting machine. He then gave me a gundam, and I fought in the Eve Wars as a Gundam Pilot. After the war I took up a job as an agent in the FBI. And here I am."

"FBI?" she breathed, more to herself than to him.

"Yeah. You're quite famous by now."

"Thanks," she quipped dryly. "So did you ever find out about your family?"

"Yeah. Advanced DNA testing and a few connections in high places pulled a few strings to search for any relatives. My parents couldn't be found, but I had a brother who died a few years back in a shuttle explosion."

"Wow…So you're under Treize now? 

"Correct."

"A Gundam Pilot, huh?" she smiled at him. "You know, Hiiro, the truth is beautiful, but so are lies." **[2]**

He blinked at the random statement. 

She laughed at his expression. "Hiiro, I've never even MET Quatre Winner."

A growl bubbled up his throat as icy fingers clutched at his heart. A horrible sinking feeling filled his stomach as the emotional barriers around his heart were rebuilt at top speeds. "You … you…"

"Liar? She-devil?" she laughed. "Don't you know when I'm messing with you, Hiiro?" With that, she sauntered back into her room and locked the door from the inside.

Outside, he gaped after her, stood, and aimed a punch at the wall, grimly satisfied as the blow ended up denting and exposing splinters of wood through floral wallpaper. He sat down again on the couch and buried his face in his hands, ignoring the throbbing of his fist and his shoulder as warm crimson again seeped from his wound.

Words could not describe how much he hated her. And himself.

__

…………………

Notes:

1. Inspiration for story taken from Breaking Point by Alex Flinn. (It's so realistic, it's scary)

2. Quoted from Ralph Waldo Emerson.

Obsessed: Thanks! Here's the next chapter.

Rheia: Thank you! ^^

Jupiter Angel: Sorry, sorry, sorry! ^^;;; Lemon? Err…Lol. ^___^

Ishtar: I'm so flattered! :D Here's the next chapter … somewhat longer. ^^

Lady Espelle: Really? Can you tell me why they confuse you … I want to do something about that. Lol. Here's the updating … am I better at it than you? Gee … All my stories come like that – the beginning an the end and then the middle. ^___~ Thanks for reading!

Jemjols: Hmm .. it was rather random but thanks! :D (for reading and for the quote :D)

Celestial DreamBlaze: Arty-chan … lol. I like using him a lot … him and Motoki. And we probably won't see how Hiiro would react until VERY late in the fic … Lol. The turmoil indeed. ^^

Hotchick1231: That was a cliffy? Lol … didn't really notice. ^^;;; Thanks for the review! 

Serena Yuy: Even if Relena wins it I'm not sure Usa would be let off the hook … lol. The turmoil. _sigh_ Here's the update!


	9. Breakfast, Lunch, and Dinner

Disclaimer: Don't own Hiiro. Don't own Usagi. But I own the rest of them! ^_____^ Kidding, kidding.

Thanks go to Ashika for beta-reading. :D :hugs:

This chapter is dedicated wholly to BunnyStar. She passed away in January.

****

Chapter 8: Breakfast, Lunch, and Dinner

Usagi sighed as she stared up at her bland, sunlight-dappled ceiling. Thoughtfully swinging her legs off of the bed, she glanced down at the shirt and jeans she had "borrowed" from Hiiro's closet. The semi-formal dress shirt hung loosely upon her slim frame and the pants were barely kept from falling by her own belt. She wasn't even positive whether or not Hiiro knew his clothing had gone missing … but, after all, he must have realized she couldn't wear the same outfit for the WHOLE month…

Rubbing her eyes tiredly with the heels of her palms, she whimpered and tried her hardest not to breathe in the masculine scent mixed faintly with sprits of cologne caressing her skin. Her mind reeled with pleasure.

Maybe "borrowing" Hiiro's clothing wasn't such a good idea after all…

Forcing her mind to dwell upon other, more pressing matters, she got up and walked to the door, again picking the lock, this time with the bored negligence that spoke of practice. She smiled to herself as the plate of scrambled eggs set upon a tray at her feet caught her eye. 

Ahhh … breakfast. 

…………………

Dropping the pen upon the table, he massaged his face, wiping off the constant frown that had marred it for at least the last twenty-four hours. At five a.m. that morning, he had been woken by the buzzing of the doorbell from a restless and worry-filled nap, not two hours after his "heart-to-heart" with one blonde Satan. He had growled and walked over to the door, wincing when his bare feet met with cold tile. A French delivery man had greeted him cheerfully and uttered a string of gibberish that sounded faintly like Pig Latin.

Of course, he wouldn't know. His French abilities didn't go past bonjour and bon-bons. Oui oui, Monsieur.

Somehow he had survived the mail ordeal and mentally ordered himself to get a French dictionary and SOON. 

He hadn't been too keen on opening the package, seeing that the return address read FBI headquarters but after half an hour of staring senselessly at French news and trying his hardest to ignore the box's enticing plea of "Open me! Open me!", he cracked. 

Lord had he been right about the contents of the box. A three-inch thick stack of paper greeted his narrowed eyes. Apparently Treize had decided since he now had a month of free time watching French reruns of The Young and the Restless, the agent might as well review some FBI procedures. 

The gesture was a bright neon sign that flashed "Yui, you're out of the boundaries so get the hell back in". 

Treize _had_ always been too direct to be subtle.

His entire month's salary said that his commanding officer was lounging around in his New York apartment, laughing at him over his morning latte.

…………………

She opened her door a crack and peeked out into the living room, assessing enemy territory.

"What do you want?" barged into her thoughts, and she blushed, quickly stepping out into the open. Usagi grinned sheepishly but only met his grim and empty stare.

She cleared her throat uncomfortably. "Look, Hiiro … I'm sorry about what I did earlier."

"Hn." He turned away to stare at the muted TV.

"If … if it makes you feel any better, I promise I won't tell Artemis or anything…"

She stopped when she saw his incredulous eyebrow raise up. "You miss the point. The only person for whom that information was confidential was you." At her confused expression, he sighed. "Don't you see? Of COURSE Artemis already knows that I'm part of the ESUN FBI. It's not uncommon knowledge. However, if you were never to gain access to the information, I would have the constant upper hand."

Sighing, she smiled defeatedly at his stony expression. "Knowledge is power, huh?"

"Hn."

Silence dampened the ambiance of the room.

"But I AM sorry, you know. I … I want to pay you back." She sighed loudly at his lack of an answer.

"I know! I can cook lunch for the two of us! What do you say?" she grinned. 

Silence.

"Treize is out for your blood. Why?"

Sighing, she plopped down next to him. "Talking to you is SO depressing."

"Why?"

"How should I know? You're the one who can gain access to classified government files, not me."

"Fine. Be that way."

"Fine."

"Hn."

More silence as they both stared at the noiselessly flashing TV.

"But you being a Gundam Pilot IS top secret, right?"

"Guess so."

"Sorry."

"You've already said that."

Her mouth twisted in a disapproving, crooked line. "So what about lunch?"

"I'd rather not."

"Why?" she instantly demanded.

He smirked at her, turning slightly, eyeing her sideways. "I'm afraid of food poisoning."

Her jaw dropped. "Well I never! I DO believe that was a joke you just uttered, Hiiro!"

He didn't reply.

"But I'M not willing to suffer _your_ cooking either." She made a face at the thought of the morning's scrambled eggs. "Just how much salt did you put in it?"

"A handful," he blinked at her innocently.

Usagi slumped back into the couch and crossed her arms after her glare had absolutely no affect on the agent next to her. "So we're back to room service?"

"Not on my tab."

"Hn." He glanced at her amusedly as she slapped a hand over her mouth and blinked at him, wide-eyed. "Oh no … I'm turning into a Hiiro clone," she whimpered. 

…………………

Usagi eyed him over her slice of pizza before meticulously pressing a napkin over the greasy food object. "Artemis would have a cow if he saw me eating this," she muttered to herself but still bit eagerly into the slice.

"I see you stole my clothes."

She froze and slowly lowered the pizza and raised her eyes, chuckling nervously. "Stole is such a strong word…"

"Innocence really lives up to its reputation."

"Huh?"

"My room had two trigger alarms and four mini security cameras. And yet I never noticed the clothes missing until just now, seeing you in them. How'd you do it?"

She smiled crookedly, wiping her mouth and wagged a finger in front of his face. "Now, now. A master never divulges her secrets."

He stared at her before taking a bite of pizza and chewing it thoughtfully. "On second thought, I'd rather not know."

"Humph."

The heater hummed in the background. "So am I forgiven?"

"Hn."

"Hn?"

"Hn. I commend you on your acting," he offered dispassionately.

She smiled proudly. "I was the co-star of a film, you know … not a blockbuster or anything, of course."

"Really."

"It was a historical film."

"About?" He sounded genuinely interested.

"The wars. Of course, the producers twisted the tale a bit, adding more romance and junk to it. Human interest stuff."

He took a swig out of the can of Pepsi. "And you were?"

She ignored his question. "In fact, my co-star played … you," she laughed.

"And you were?" he repeated.

"You wouldn't believe me if I told you."

"Try me."

The blonde opposite of him took another bite and mumbled something under her breath that sounded oddly like, "Petunia Hmmling."

"Louder."

Sighing, she put her pizza down and glared at him. In a very small voice, she blushed and muttered, "Relena Darlian."

…………………

"No success?" he greeted his partner. Wufei glared up at him.

"If I had succeeded, the media would be raving about it, and my name would be printed in history books by now."

"Somebody woke up on the wrong side of the bed this morning," he sighed more to himself. His gaze followed the Chinese agent as said man walked over to the TV and flipped on to CNN. 

"It's odd though. Innocence hadn't made a move ever since the little stroll Artemis took a while back."

"Maybe they're mourning the loss of Tsukino," Wufei grunted.

"Hmm…" Trowa sighed and walked to slump next to his partner on the sofa. "No … it seems more as if Artemis were taking a vacation." He laughed out loud at his own idea. 

"How would you know?"

"I did a little homework while you were away."

Wufei's eyebrows shot up before furrowing in resignation. "You hacked into the government's records again, Barton?"

"Well _they're_ obviously not providing us with any news. Found out Hiiro hadn't reported any problems with people trying to reach Tsukino or anything. Innocence had been silent for longer than we think. It's been dormant for the last month or so … But what's puzzling is that there still are so many calls and mail going in and out-"

"But we can't get a single piece of that because of their anti-hacking and anti-bug programs," Wufei finished knowingly. "What have you got up your sleeve, Innocence?" he pondered into the silent air.

…………………

"Sir!" the young man saluted as he entered the room and remained at attention until he looked up from the documents set in front of him.

"Ah, good. You came." He leaned back in his chair and stretched languidly. "Did you get the mission assigned to you?"

"Yes sir!"

"And do you understand EXACTLY what you have to do?"

"Yes sir!"

The young man's energetic responses were giving him a headache, and he scowled at him. "Well, what are you waiting for? Complete it by midnight tonight," he snapped irritably and turned away from the man, looking outside at the New York skyline.

"Yes sir!"

"Dismissed."

_Three strikes and you're out, Yui._

…………………

The next chapter's a bit odd. Oh, excuse me. A bit odder than usual. ^^;;; It gets … a bit darker from here on but … nothing major, really. ^^

Ashika: Heh heh … you will buckle down but will I? Lol. ^___~

Crazygurl70: My favorite species of Usagi too! :D

Serena Yuy: Usagi? Kid? Nah! :D The strong bond? Hmm … that might take awhile, ne? Especially after this. Lol. (I love this. :D)

Ishtar: I'd been wanting to dedicate a chapter/one-shot to her but I wasn't sure whether or not it would be proper seeing that I barely knew her at all … but here's her chapter! :D 

Ryouga Saiyuki: …twisted? That's the best compliment yet! :D Thanks for the review and … erm … I love you too? ^^;;

Celestial Moon: Hmm … you'll have to wait and see! :D

Sunshine Fia: Either she had a lot of practice or she's just really good at lying – her occupation and all, y'know. But was it her true past? That's an interesting question…^__~

Thanks for reading, everybody! :D


	10. One Way Street

Disclaimer: Don't own Gundam Wing or Sailor Moon. :P

Thanks go to Ashika for editing. :D (Yes, this time it's for real! :DDD)

Warnings: It starts out horribly. :P And yes, there is a cliffhanger. :D

****

Chapter 9: One Way Street

"So! Anything good on TV?" she chirped as she sat down next to him, glancing towards the flickering screen.

"Mostly soap operas."

"Oh." The graceful lilt of French filled her ears before a raucous knock on the door jerked her out of her thoughts. "Yay! Food's here!"

After tipping the delivery boy, Usagi grabbed two forks and paper plates out of the cupboards and walked back to the sofa, handing Hiiro his share of the order.

She made a face as the woman on the screen suddenly went from laughing to sobbing. "What's her problem?" she muttered to herself before changing the channel … to another soap opera. 

"I give up," she sighed and left the channel there. Silence consumed the two as Usagi munched on celery sticks. She shifted uncomfortably. 

"You still haven't forgiven me for lying to you, have you?" She glanced sideways at him.

He didn't glance up, but she saw his right eye tic. "Is it that obvious?"

Usagi blinked and cracked a small smile. "Maybe I can just read you like a book."

A snort answered her. Again, silence filled the room, and the stream of gentle French continued, unperturbed.

"What do you want, Hiiro? How can I pay you back?" Getting the question out felt good. If he didn't answer, that was his problem – she had done what was expected of her.

The answer came much more quickly than she had thought it would. "Tell me your past."

Her answer shot out just as quickly. "Yeah right."

"Why?"

She shrugged simply, crunching on another celery stick. "I don't trust you enough." Her words sounded characteristically American next to the hushed flow of French in the background. 

His face darkened. "Oh, really?"

"Yes, really." She paused and thought out her answer. "I just don't think you should know."

"I'll find out."

A short bark of a laugh answered him. "Sure you will."

The flow of French resumed. 

"What can be so bad about it?" he mused to himself and looked askance at her. 

She rolled her eyes. "My life is not all jewels and intrigue, you know. I don't have a royal cushion waiting for me back at Innocence."

"It isn't as if my life is so much simpler," he argued tonelessly, arms crossed over chest, meal finished. 

Her head jerked right, and her eyes sought his. "You're so naïve, Hiiro. You think your life as it was defines hell but … you don't understand the degrees of hell."

"Naïve…" The word tasted bitter in his mouth. "I killed innocents."

She laughed again. "Oh, back to that, are we? More than half the people in the war had killed innocents, Hiiro. Not just you. YOU'RE hated because you killed innocents but so did a majority of other soldiers. Very few people are guiltless in wars..." She sighed and looked aside. 

"Very few people know what I actually do. They think I'm some conniving thief out to get her hands on some priceless jewels. Don't you see how much easier you've got it, Hiiro? Don't you see that I'M hated because I'm Usagi Tsukino?" The blonde stood up and slowly walked towards her door, as if waiting for a reply. 

Finally, he turned and stared at her, eyes dark and intense. "I'll find out," he repeated.

"Sure you will, Hiiro." The door closed behind her.

…………………

Usagi swallowed hard, wishing the lump at her throat away. Up until the altercation with Hiiro, she had never quite realized that the path she had chosen was a one way street. 

Her past would never be erased, and her name would forever be entombed in an archive of most crafty criminals. Her life would never be wiped clean again.

If she left the wing of protection Innocence provided, she would become a vulnerable target, a limping antelope at the end of the pack.

If she stayed with Innocence, her morals would never again be fulfilled, and she would spend her life hating herself.

Tears burned the corners of her eyes and the back of her throat. She laid her head upon her folded arms and welcomed the soft embrace of slumber.

…………………

He leaned back into the sofa as the TV clicked off with a small flash. Her eyes blazed in his mind, oddly serene and not at all angry. She had just admitted that her name would be forever blemished in the world's eyes yet … 

And this past that she guarded so well, lashing out at every person who dared to come close … what exactly was so horrible about it?

He sighed. A week had passed since he picked up a blonde wonder in Calais, and the week had been filled with every possible temptation. He still had a month to go…and it'd be a miracle if he came out of this unscathed.

Glancing at her closed door, regret gouged at his heart, but he didn't know why.

…………………

One electric blue eye slid open in the darkness before lids covered it again and she sighed in her sleep, adjusting her position. 

But comfort didn't come to her and with a frustrated groan, she sat up, arms numb from hours of inactivity and head heavy after hours of sleep. She looked blearily out the blinds, frowning. Night had already fallen.

But what was bothering her was … what had woken her up? She looked around her darkened room nervously before slowly getting up and carefully turning on the light. Nobody was there.

Her twisted paper clip clinked lightly as she jiggled it in the lock. The door slowly swung open.

She froze.

A shadow flitted.

A slight scrabble of fingernails on plastic echoed.

The cold metal of a small firearm made contact with her left temple.

…………………

Treize yawned tiredly as he looked out at the nightscape of New York City and smiled thoughtfully to himself. In about an hour, his problems would be over.

There was nothing he despised more than disobedient underlings.

…………………

"Don't move," a masculine voice whispered. She could barely make out his figure in the dark.

_Good. That means he can barely make out mine, too._

Panic didn't register in her mind as the man led her towards the open window. Her hand dug into her jacket pocket for the Glock she had stolen from Hiiro, and her heart started thumping erratically when numb fingertips brushed against the sleek metal. 

Her eyes made out the form of the couch, and she purposely tripped over its corner. The man beside her muttered a curse.

"Get up."

She fumbled the gun until it was hidden behind her hunched form. Crouching, she piteously whimpered, "I think I twisted my ankle."

The man beside her sucked his breath in nervously and shifted from foot to foot. Finally, perhaps in a less harsh than he wished for tone, he said, "I don't care. Get up." 

Her knees still bent, she got up slowly and strove to straighten them. She collapsed again, lying against the floor…

And shot up at the man.

He slumped onto the couch without a sound.

…………………

Relena rubbed her eyes tiredly and blinked down at her work, trying to decipher the symbols that Spain passed as its language. 

"I really should have demanded a translator," she muttered darkly to herself, cursing her diplomatic ways. 

_When in Rome, do as the Romans do_ had always been one of her most used adages. Prior to this conference, she had crammed to remember the high school Spanish she had trudged through. It was proper and very impressive for a politician in her field of work to try and make the target think she was one of them. In this case, it had worked out nicely…

Until now. 

The onset of a headache waited at the back of her mind like a coiled cobra as Relena flipped the Spanish dictionary open once again.

…………………

Her eyes roved around the room again to make sure there were no other people. To be on the safe side, she didn't turn on the lights and walked over to the man, flipping through his pockets to look for ID.

A wallet fell out of one jacket pocket and flipped open in front of her. Her breath stuck at her throat, and her mind raced.

The man was part of the FBI. 

She crept to the open window and dropped her twisted paper clip out, hoping if the man had any accomplices, they would show up. 

Nothing.

She dropped the man's wallet.

Still nothing.

A small sigh of relief fluttered past her lips before a sudden, puzzled thought struck her – where was Hiiro?

She walked back towards the middle of the room and stumbled over a body. One that wasn't of the man she had just shot.

"Hiiro?" she whispered, bending down onto one knee. "Hiiro … wake up." She shook his shoulder but jerked her hand back when it brushed against something wet.

No movement.

Nothing. 

Her hand shakily reached over to the light switch and flipped it on. 

Usagi screamed and jumped back. 

…………………

Tenshi_Chikyuu: You noticed! :glomps:

Ashika: Lol … you didn't. ^___~ But I was too lazy to go back and change it. :D

Alexz: Thanks! :D

Celestial Moon: Here's the next chapter! :D (and the next cliffhanger. )

Obsessed: Lol. Didn't you mother ever tell you that suck ups go places in this world? ^^;;; But thanks anyway. :D I'm actually not so sure it'll be as dark as it was going to be … more like … angsty. And a little more political, I guess. :D

Ishtar: I'm _really_ sorry. I dedicated it but then I didn't realize it wasn't in the beginning of the chapter until after you reviewed. I've changed it! But I'm _really_ sorry. Personally, I think that was very disrespectful of me. 

Li-chan: I guess this is what he meant … right? Hmm … :D Nope … no more good things for Hiiro and Usagi for a LONG time. :D I love this… ^^;;;

Serena Yuy: Lol. I just threw the Relena Darlian part in because I felt like it. Lol. And Relena _is_ going to be somewhat important in this fic and I wanted her to be in you guys' minds. :D LOL. "hope not, cause I don't think it's possible to have a relationship with a dead guy." LOL. Have you ever tried? ^____~ I'm saying _nothing_. :D

Jupiter Angel: The day I write a fic that doesn't have Hiiro and Usagi fall in love … will not be this year. :D Or at least … this month. Lol. The senshi aren't really part of anything … I changed the prologue because I didn't want to complicate the fic even more. I should've told everybody but … it was only one sentence and I didn't feel like it. :D But lol. You have this fic planned out better than I do! O___o

Thanks everybody for your support! Now it's just down to this, Picture This, Shards of Truth, and the Bachelor! Yay! ^^ Happy reading! Yours, Angel.


	11. Futures Crumbling

Disclaimer: I don't own either Gundam Wing or Sailor Moon … but … I own YOU! Err … yeah. That.

****

Chapter 10: Futures Crumbling

Artemis shook his head slowly as he leafed through the file and took detailed notes on every illegal action Usagi had every committed, frowning as the list continued to grow at an alarming speed. He set the file down reluctantly and rubbed his face tiredly with both hands. He had been confronted with the facts and truly had to admit that Innocence needed Usagi. Badly.

The rate of successful missions dropped from a nice, cushy 76.9% to Innocence's all-time low at an embarrassing 54.3%. And the bad news didn't stop there.

Artemis had always hated the hierarchical and bureaucratic form of organization that most prominent companies and the government adopted. He preferred a more efficient and comfortable way of doing things. Everybody in Innocence knew about his unspoken open door policy, and any member of their organization could sit down and chat before heading out for an assignment. It worked out nicely. His people were satisfied and so was he. Until Usagi left. 

She had been his morale and therefore Innocence's as well. During her absence, he found himself receiving more complaints, some pleasant and some not, regarding his recent "pushy attitude" and "incessant bitching". 

He had to admit it – he was a mess without her.

The November report showed a steep incline in casualties as well as slip-ups. 

Artemis looked out the window and saw his future crumbling.

…………………

"Hiiro?" she whispered fearfully.

Her roommate had slid down from a standing position against the wall, streaks of horrid scarlet stained his shirt from the still bleeding wound upon his chest. The bullet had lodged in his body, no more than six inches downwards and to the right from the heart.

His face was pale and eyes slitted, only small slivers of the whites showing. 

Her heart rate sped up immediately as she fought to retain control of her composure and recall facts she had learned in the mandatory emergency medical care classes Artemis had required each member of Innocence to take. She ran for the cupboards and flipped through them, heart sinking as no saran wrap turned up. Hot tears burnt the back of her throat before she gave up and tore up a plastic grocery bag so that there were no longer two layers of plastic when it was laid flat.

Hiiro's wound was more than serious. Judging the distance from the window to his sprawled form, the shot couldn't have been much more than twenty feet away and could have been much closer. The bullet had most definitely hit a lung and in a matter of minutes, even with the plastic stretching over to cover up the entrance wound, the lung would be leaking air into the chest cavity with every breath, and it was going to collapse.

Hiiro was little more than an inch away from certain death.

…………………

Artemis started as his secretary poked her head into the room and signaled at the phone. "Line two. It's urgent," she whispered and snuck back out. 

Blinking at the closed door, he slowly picked up the phone and switched on the vid-com, gasping as Usagi's face, eyes disoriented with panic and blood smeared on in stripes popped up on the screen. He leaned forward quickly and almost fell over as his chair tipped. Usagi didn't bat an eyelash when normally she would have burst out in peals of laughter. 

The instant she saw that he was attentive, she let out a string of almost incoherent words that centered around the name Hiiro. "…need your help! Artemis! Oh my God … it's just so…"

He felt like tearing his hair out and shaking her by her shoulders but settled for slowly letting go of a long breath of air and focusing his attentions on calming her down. 

"Usagi!"

"…but it was just so horrible! And there he was – against the-"

He tried again. "Usagi!"

"…and the blood! It was just everywhere and-"

"_Usagi! Shut up!"_ She finally stopped and froze, staring at him as if just realizing he was there. Artemis sighed and drew in a refreshing lungful of air. "Get a hold of yourself, Usagi."

She blinked and cocked her head puzzledly at him like a curious puppy. 

"Let's start with the basics: are you hurt?" 

She blinked again, slowly bringing her hands up to her face and realizing that they were covered in half coagulating blood. "No."

"Who is then?"

"Hiiro!" He pulled back as her eyes suddenly took on a half-crazed glimmer, and she leaned forwards, towards the screen. "You have to come help me! Take him to a doctor or something! Do you know why, Art? Do you know why?!" 

She waited breathlessly for his response as he pulled back even farther and stared at her, not daring to admit to himself that this was Tsukino Usagi. Twenty days ago she had been perfectly fine, back from a successful mission, lovable, sociable, and on top of the world. 

Where was she now?

"Why?"

"Because I can't speak a _damn word of **French**_!" She broke into frustrated sobs. 

This was where she had crossed the line. Artemis was panicking with her. Usagi never cried. At least, not in public. In fact, in the eight years that she had been with Innocence, no living soul had reported her crying or trembling or anything that displayed any weaknesses at all.

What had happened to her?

__

Love…

He shook his head to dispel the word and chose not to remember it. Even the thought of Usagi in love was absurd.

"We're heading over soon in a helicopter. I'm going to bring Mizuno Ami. Can you handle him, Usagi?" he said slowly, but what he really wanted to know was whether or not she could handle herself.

Usagi swallowed her tears and nodded bravely, almost smiling. Artemis smiled back tentatively and felt pride swell in his heart. Usagi was in charge, always in charge, and he could count on her.

"Now, I'm going to put Ami on the line and have her give you instructions, all right?"

Again, Usagi nodded bravely. 

He opened the line to his secretary just outside the door. "Tell Mizuno Ami to drop everything and come to my office."

"Y-yes sir."

He turned back to the screen. "Can you tell me what happened, Usagi?"

She sniffed and began, voice hoarse. "I was in my room when I heard a sound and went out to investigate. This man threatened me to follow him at gunpoint and I shot him. His wallet said he was part of the FBI and…" She gulped, and he tried to make his face look as encouraging as possible. "And then I found Hiiro … shot through the chest." It took a lot of strength for her to keep from breaking down, and he sympathized deeply with her.

"Artemis? What's the matter?" Ami stood in front of his desk, panting from running and hair mussed. She had just woken up. 

"Talk to her." He stood up and let her have the seat. Ami looked confusedly at him, thoroughly flustered, before sitting down and looking into the screen. She gasped out loud.

"Usagi! Are you okay? Where are you hurt?"

Usagi looked confused for a moment before shaking her head vehemently. "Don't worry, Ami. It's not my blood."

Ami almost felt her blood pressure returning to normal and sighed in relief. "So what happened?"

"It ... It's Hiiro. He's been shot."

Ami nodded. This was familiar territory now. "Where?"

"In the chest, about six inches from his heart. The bullet is lodged in his right lung. It's low in the chest and the left lung is somewhat elevated above it."

"You're lucky."

Usagi frowned. "Why?" She shook her head quickly and thought better of it. "Never mind. We don't have time to waste."

"Have you covered the wound?"

"With thin plastic."

Ami nodded again. "How badly is he bleeding?"

"It hasn't stopped yet … but has slowed a bit…"

"How long since he's been shot?"

Usagi bit her lip and thought hard. "Maybe … three to five minutes."

"Is he conscious?"

"No."

"Check his breathing and his pulse. Are they still there?"

Ami waited tensely as Usagi turned and did her bidding. "Yes but both are weak and slow."

Artemis stood silently to the side as he watched the efficient and quick exchange of data. Ami was scribbling notes to herself before finally nodding curtly at Usagi. 

"You can't really do much. The key is to stop the bleeding and keep his lung from collapsing for as long as possible … You can probably apply towels and pressure to the wound. Keep the plastic on there and make sure it's as tight as you can make it without hurting him." 

Usagi nodded after each tip. "What … what do you think his chances for survival are?"

Ami sighed and squeezed her eyes shut tightly before opening them and blinking to clear her vision. "Do you really want to know, Usagi?" she asked gently.

The blonde visibly gulped and quickly shook her head no. "When will you be here?"

Ami glanced up at Artemis before turning back to the screen. "In about three hours. We'll call you and get the exact address after we get into Calais."

Usagi nodded. 

"Don't do anything rash, Usa."

Another nod. 

"We'll see you in three hours then." Ami tried to smile an upbeat smile but from the way Usagi's face fell, she knew she had failed miserably.

"Bye."

…………………

"Miss Darlian. You have a message." The messenger nodded at her and whispered into her ear. She started abruptly and stood up so quickly that her chair fell over backwards. 

"Are you sure?"

The messenger nodded gravely.

She turned back to the audience. "Ladies and gentlemen of the press, this conference is adjourned until further notice."

A tidal wave of questions and camera flashes answered her as she headed off-stage, the messenger leading the way. She barely heard or saw them.

…………………

"Artemis! Hurry!" Ami yelled from down the hall, walking into his room to see what was taking her boss so long. "What are you doing? Why are you bringing that?"

He didn't answer immediately, slowly and carefully checking that the handgun had ammunition before turning to her and the door.

"I'm ready."

"Why are you bringing that?"

He looked aside. "If it needs to be done, I'll be the one to do it." 

Ami jerked back in shock before sighing. "You're too protective of her."

"I don't want her to regret it later."

"Fine. If he needs to be put out of his misery, be my guest. But we need to try our hardest to prevent it." She pegged him with a long, hard look, silently challenging him. He didn't flinch. 

"We need to hurry."

She nodded and they headed towards the hanger and the helicopter, praying that time would stop, if just for them. 

……………………

How was it peeps? Long time no see! :D It's almost the end of the school year! Time really flies … ~shrugs~ Anyhow. Thanks for reading1 Yours, Angel.

Notes:

Angel: Thanks for taking the time to review! Here's the next chapter. :D

Ishtar: You're back! :D Thanks for reviewing! 

Hot_Chick_1231: Heh … you thought _that_ was evil … ^^;;; And you think my chapters are long? Wow! First person yet…

Morrighan of Crimson and Sable: Lol … I'd say 'get used to it' but seems really mean … ^^;;; 

Ashika: Ack! I still need to edit Chaos and and and … do you want me to edit Eclipse? You ended at such an odd place – in the middle of a sentence. O____O But anyhow. I'll get them to you by … today. :D Hopefully…

Jemjols: Hiiro? Die? Y'know … it never really crossed my mind to actually _kill_ him until all the people who didn't want it mentioned it … heh. But … you talk of waiting? How long has it been since _you've_ updated? ~taps foot~ Go write! ^^;;;

Li-chan: Evil cliffhangers abound … mawhahaha. I love doing this … writing, I mean. Not leaving cliffhangers. ^^

Serena Yuy: ROFL! "I'll be praying for Heero having GOOD HEALTH in the NEXT CHAPTER" Heh. :D Sorry … I already had it planned out and everything … but what worried me was that you think they don't have a relationship … _sigh_. I'm not sure if I went into that enough … it almost seems as if … well … I just never really go into the relationship (in later chapters, I mean) soooooooo … arg. _tears at hair_ It's the same problem with Picture This. Relationships suck. :P And honestly, the whole date with Hiiro's corpse sounds _very_ intriguing. Don't be surprised if it shows up … though I promise it won't in this fic. ^^;;; Not killing a kawaii anime character? _glances at Hiiro_ _and shrugs_. Ah well. He can always come back. :D Thanks for the review! ^___^

Sunshine Fia: Heh heh heh … Usagi's past … hmmm … somewhere in the middle of … either the next chapter or the one after that. :D Contrary to popular belief, I _do_ know where I'm going with this. ^^;;;

Jupiter Angel: Well ... here you go! The reason why she screamed. :D

AmyAngel: Heh. More cliffhangers soon…

Obsessed: No way he's dead. I agree. But close to dead is a _whole_ different matter. :D

Tenshi-Chikyuu: LOL. "I've never been glomped before, what a ride". :D Here's the next chapter!

Thanks to everybody for taking the time to read this! Email: angelight97@yahoo.com


	12. A Bleak Three Hours

Disclaimer: Neither Gundam Wing nor Sailor Moon are mine. Need I elaborate? ^^

****

Chapter 11: A Bleak Three Hours

The second hand of the clock ticked loudly, drowning out all other thoughts as she struggled to bite back tears. The phone was still in her hand as she stared dazedly at Hiiro's prone form. 

The dial tone brought her out of her reverie and she started. Slowly, she hung up and leaned against the wall, sliding down, never taking her eyes off of Hiiro. "Why did you have to go and get yourself shot?" She blinked hard and finally got up and grabbed some towels from the bathroom at one end of the short hallway. 

Tentatively, she draped them over his chest and applied pressure over the plastic and the wound. Biting her lip at the spreading blood, she took two more, folded them into quarters and tried again.

Volatile crimson spread and flowered on pristine white.

…………………..

"Where the hell do they think they're going?" Wufei yelled at nobody in particular. Trowa rolled his eyes. He hated his partner's habit of loosing his cool when stressed out.

"Do I look like I know?"

Wufei shot him a nasty look for the barb. "Well, what're you doing just standing there? We need to get a chopper! NOW!"

Trowa rolled his eyes again and started sprinting out of the room, Wufei hot on his trail. "Keep your pants on, sheesh."

…………………

Artemis leaned back in his seat and strapped himself in, preparing himself for a long ride. Not five minutes later, the land crew proclaimed the tank full and signaled for them to get going. Five more minutes later, he was staring blankly at the pre-dawn blue of the sky and wondering if, at the end of the day, Hiiro Yui would still be alive.

Now that he had time to reflect upon the situation, Artemis had to admit that had Usagi not been involved, he wouldn't have given a damn about Hiiro Yui. In fact, he probably would have laughed. HA indeed! The FBI was now killing off its own members? What a hoot.

Because she had insisted to be notified the instant Usagi was found again, Usagi's financial backbone, as he liked to call her, was coming along for the ride. He had protested, valiantly, but there was no arguing with her. So despite the risks, she was coming with or without his consent. 

"Are you nervous?" Ami glanced back from her co-pilot seat at the two of them and smiled. 

The woman beside him looked troubled.

Artemis tried to look nonchalant. "Only for Usagi."

The woman sighed and shook her head at him sadly. He was suddenly suspicious.

"Were you … did you _know_ Hiiro Yui?"

She looked up quickly before looking away. "No … yes."

Artemis frowned deeply and looked out the window again. Ami turned back so that she was facing the front again.

He hated Hiiro Yui and Hiiro Yui probably hated him too. But once Usagi got involved … then it got tricky. But Usagi had better not be in love with him or be attached to him in any way. Because if she were…

He would shoot Yui whether he needed to be or not. 

…………………

She had been given broad discretionary powers. It all boiled down to stopping the blood flow from his body and keeping the oxygen in it. As long as she did this, he was okay. Didn't matter how.

Luckily, Hiiro had stopped soaking towels through and through. She was tired but unwilling to leave his side and continued to apply pressure. Usagi checked his breathing and pulse periodically and though both rates were far more sluggish than the norm, he was not in desperate need of oxygen. Hiiro was still precariously hanging off of the cliff; one wrong move could start the blood flow again or cut off the air to the rest of his body and the six o'clock news would be screaming about the murder of Agent Hiiro Yui. More than likely, all fingers would point to her as the culprit.

The tears that she had been too busy to remember came now, slowly but surely. 

"Don't go, Hiiro. I'll do anything … I'll-" She sniffled and brush away the tears on her cheeks. "I'll tell you my past if you want me to." She sighed and adjusted her position so that she was leaning onto the wall next to him. 

"I was … so normal before. I had a younger brother, Shingo … he was…" She brushed away more tears. "He was four years younger and … and our parents adored both of us. We lived in a well-to-do neighborhood in Chicago with a school system second only to one in Sacramento. Sammy and I both lived a very … sheltered life." She gave up on brushing the tears away.

"Dad worked at the school and had access to everything. I wasn't really the social butterfly … far from that, actually. Then Esmeraude, the prettiest and most popular girl at school invited me into her little posse. With a few requirements, of course. I mean … nobody gets into the most popular crowd in school for nothing, right? But it was difficult to do the tasks at first. Especially after I found out about her connections to the city's most volatile and deadly gang.

"I had to lie, to cheat, to steal … However, as time progressed, it became easier and easier to look my parents in the eye and lie to them and to sneak out for the night. 

"The tasks were all simple: change a grade from a D to an A, steal a little bit of bourbon from the cabinet – Mom worked as a flight attendant and would take the little samples of wine they had. It was all good and well until Esmeraude demanded more. She wanted revenge on the school. She found a recipe for a bomb and wanted me to plant it in Ms. Zimmerman – our science teacher's – room. 

"I didn't want to do it so I refused her. And that day … after I got home from school … my family was gone. A note told me they were dead. I guess they were because I never saw them again. But it would have been impossible to get anything to stick on smart, pretty, athletic Esmeraude with her politician father and stay at home mother. She probably had somebody else to do her dirty work. 

"I felt so stupid, weak, foolish. I hated myself. I was out on the streets, living in shelters when the weather got too cold and staying in my car when it was okay. Artemis found me. Promised me revenge and promised me that I would never be weak again. 

She paused to sniffle and check his breathing again.

"Esmeraude … a few years back Art found a file on her. She was homeless, living in the streets of D.C., constantly either stoned or drunk. I suppose … I suppose in the end, people always get what they deserve…"

She trailed off and pondered the last thought. Her eyes were dry and the tears were mere streaks down her cheeks by now. 

Usagi sighed and stared down at Hiiro's pale face, glad to note that the crimson on the towel hadn't spread much further during her storytelling. 

She pecked him on the cheek and rested her head on his shoulder, half leaning on it and half leaning against the wall. 

"I love you, Hiiro. I'll do anything … just … don't go…"

…………………

"We found a call traced from Calais to Innocence. That's all we know. Head towards Calais and the rest of the spying will have to be done by car or on foot." 

Wufei cursed as Trowa calmly replied, "Roger that. Barton out."

"I can't believe they can't trace a simple little call. This is child's play!"

"Shut up, Wufei. Innocence is a highly guarded organization. If Une says she can't trace the call then nobody can."

"Except Innocence," Wufei sulked.

"I'd like to see you talk them into doing that." Trowa sighed and glanced over at his co-pilot. "That is, if you can get past Innocence's high security gates." 

Wufei humphed and looked out the window.

"Ever wonder _why_ nobody can get into Innocence?"

"No."

Trowa ignored the answer. "Because it's damn near impossible."

"Why couldn't Artemis just ride a commercial plane? Make things easier for us."

Trowa laughed out loud. "Yeah, right. So we can call the plane down and force it to land in Maine. And then we can ask Artemis to wait for us to get over there to arrest him, right? He's not an idiot, Wufei."

"And neither am I."

"I never said you were," Trowa retorted smoothly.

Wufei sighed and admitted that he had lost the battle. "How much longer until we reach Calais?"

"Two and a half hours."

…………………

Usagi jerked awake at the sound of the phone ringing. She carefully got up and grabbed the phone from its cradle. 

"Usagi? We're in Calais. Where are you?" Artemis's voice shouted in her ear. In the background, she could hear the sound of blades slicing air as the helicopter's propeller gradually slowed to a stop. 

She quickly recited the address and almost smiled in relief when Artemis informed her that they'd be there within the half-hour. Returning the phone to its proper position, she glanced back down at Hiiro. 

Usagi knelt beside him and tried to find his pulse. When she did, it was slow and lethargic. Hiiro was much paler than he was two hours ago. 

Her doubts began to mount.

…………………

"Can you see anything?"

"Stop nagging," he shot back tiredly as he peered through the binoculars. "I see the helicopter."

"Well? Zoom in, zoom in!" Wufei rolled his eyes, pacing behind Trowa as the man focused in on the people exiting the helicopter, noting each person as he or she stepped out. 

The pilot, unidentified female doctor, Artemis…"

"Is that it? Does the doctor look familiar? Damn it, Barton! Hand over the binoculars!" Wufei was getting more and more frustrated as Trowa refused to utter another word. 

The binoculars fell from his hands with a clatter as Wufei swooped down to grab them, shooting Trowa a nasty look as he dusted them off and adjusted them to focus in on the crowd now outside of the chopper and hailing a taxi.

"My God!" 

The binoculars dropped a second time and broke.

Trowa remained silent.

"What the hell is Relena Darlian doing here with Artemis?!"

…………………

Another cliffhanger. No surprise there. This was written quite a while back, around the middle of March. In fact, GM was officially done the first weekend of April but … _shrugs_. Recently re-read Flowers for Algernon (Daniel Keyes). It's … touching, definitely. Has a few questionable parts but the entire idea and … tone … was very emotional. I don't know why I'm talking about this but…It's like my Les Miserables craze a while back. And the Tale of Two Cities craze and… Anyhow, my life has been a bit chaotic lately but, as always, thanks for reading. ^^ Yours, Angel. 

Angel: Thanks! Here's the next chapter.

Angellus Lee: Heh … moi? The best? Is this soon enough? ^^

Ishtar: AHH!! Aloha? Lilo and Stitch … ~sniff~ That was a good movie (just watched it ^^;;;). Heh. And I'll do it again and again and again … but there's more! :D

Obsessed: Don't worry. There'll be plenty more cliffhangers. ^^ At least … I think they are…

Crazygurl70: Lol. ~fans her~ You pass out a lot, don't you? ^^ Every day is a bit much … how 'bout every other third day? ^^

Rheia: ~pokes Hiiro~ Nope. Hiiro died. ^^;;; Just kidding. 

_hot_chick_1231: Thank you! I completely agree! My chapters _are_ long enough. Lol. ^^;;; I'm glad it carried over nicely – Artemis's protection over Usagi. Thanks for the review! ^^

Serena Yuy: Lol. Well … this once that you're prepared it actually turned out okay! Usagi _did_ say she loved him. ^^;;; Of course … the fact that there are about nine more chapters says a lot about the usefulness of _that_. ^^ Thanks for the review!

E-mail: angelight97@yahoo.com


	13. Relena Makes Her Move

Disclaimer: Fruits Basket … it makes me so depressed. Lol. Oh … wait … Right. I don't own Gundam Wing or Sailor Moon … ~sigh~ Fruits Basket … ^^;;;

Pretty short of a chapter. Warning for bunches and bunches of useless dialogue. ^^;;;

****

Chapter 12: Relena Makes her Move

"Mr. Winner! The entire ESUN was surprised when you chose to scorn the governmental defense organizations. Can you explain to us your decision?" 

"Mr. Winner! Why did you choose Innocence to support your opinions?"

"Mr. Winner!"

"Mr. Wi-"

He walked quickly and tried to hide his face as his guards hovered around him, telling the reporters off with "No comment"s. 

The limousine door opened and, with no small amount of relief, he slid into the back seat and leaned back tiredly. 

"Mr. Winner? Where are we headed?"

He looked up and smiled at his driver. "Back to the Philadelphia estate. We'll stay twelve hours and then leave on a commercial shuttle to L4."

"All right then."

The partition slid up slowly.

…………………

"Usagi! Where is he?" Ami stormed in first through the door, followed closely by Artemis and Relena.

Usagi stood up, clothing splotched with blood and pointed dazedly. 

Ami gasped and swooped down, kneeling and flipping open her medical bag expertly, instantly getting down to work. Usagi watched mutedly as the doctor quickly inserted a chest tube and closed the entrance wound, monitoring Hiiro's breathing rate every few minutes. She watched the frown play on Ami's face as the brunette shook her head slowly. "What I'd do for an x-ray right now."

"Is he going to be all right?"

Ami glanced back briefly before getting back to work. "You're lucky the bullet is so low. Since the left lung was above the wound, the internal bleeding didn't press so much against it and it didn't collapse with the right one." She glanced back again and shot Usagi an encouraging smile. "Since the chest tube is already in him, we're much better off than before." 

"You're not … operating?"

Ami shrugged. "Not yet, anyway. Until the air in his lung returns to its regular pressure level, I can't remove the chest tube. When I do that, I'll have to sew the torn tissue up. That's the tricky part and what the antibiotics are here for."

"So you don't have to dig out the bullet?"

The doctor shook her head and stood up, pulling the protective gloves off of her hands and dropping them onto the mass of bloodied towels, flinching slightly. "You've been watching too much ER. The lung will heal itself and the body will form scar tissue around the bullet since it's nowhere near a joint or bone."

"How do you feel?" Artemis jumped in, eyeing the seemingly half-dead Usagi, smiling gently as he stepped closer and touched her comfortingly on the shoulder. 

She shook it off. "I'm fine." Her voice was faint and fatigued and she wobbled when she stopped leaning against the wall. 

"Oh, Usagi! We were all so worried about your disappearance!"

Usagi's eyes finally landed upon the last person present who had been silent up until that point and widened. "Relena? You can't be here! This is way too dangerous!"

"Nonsense! If Artemis has to come then so do I."

The silver-haired man rolled his eyes. "You see what I have to put up with in New York?"

Usagi managed a smile but quickly turned back to Ami.

"What will happen now?"

Heaving a sigh, Ami grinned. "You did a great job of stopping the blood flow and remembering to slap on the thin plastic so quickly. And we were lucky that the bullet didn't go through and through … He'll need to stay in a reclining position for several days and won't be able to move much. Plus he'll be constantly drugged on antibiotics, just in case there's infection. Other than that … I don't think there'd be any major problems from now on."

Artemis caught Usagi as she fell back and fainted out of exhaustion.

"Usagi!" Relena looked horrified. 

Ami looked on sympathetically. "She's worn-out."

"We have a time limit. I need to get back to Innocence in six hours and three of those are needed for the ride back." Artemis stared at Usagi's limp form that he had carried over to the couch and sighed. "Why don't you leave a set of instructions for her on how to take care of him, Ami?" 

The doctor nodded absentmindedly as she studied her patient.

"Well … you know what they say. All's well that ends well," Relena smiled.

"We should get Usagi into her b-"

"Everybody freeze!" The door banged open to reveal two agents, Colt .45s aimed and ready. Trowa Barton and Wufei Chang surveyed the startled group in front of them.

…………………

Rashid greeted him warmly when he arrived back in Philadelphia and promptly asked him when and where he'd like to have lunch.

"I'll take it in my study," Quatre smiled and thanked the Maguanac. "Oh, and please hold all calls."

…………………

Artemis was the first to recover. Quickly, he snatched at the pistol in his pocket. But Wufei spotted this and automatically shot out. There was a flash of crimson as Artemis staggered back, clutching his wounded hand and glaring at the Asian agent. Ami moved slowly over to him, trying to help him but he pushed her away.

"We are here on behalf of the ESUN Preventers and FBI to arrest Artemis Danilo, Ami Mizuno, Usagi Tsukino, and…" Trowa paused to pencil something in. "Relena Darlian."

"You've gotta be kidding me!" Artemis raged as he stepped forward. Wufei's gun was instantly trained on him.

"Don't move."

Trowa bent down to examine the dead body by the couch, eyebrows shooting up at the man's FBI badge. "Do you know a Spencer McEvan?" he asked Wufei.

Wufei looked up and shook his head no. 

"Says here he's in the Khushrenada division. Suspicious, huh?"

Wufei grunted.

"We'll take him with us."

"Who shot him?"

Nobody answered.

"Who shot him?" Trowa repeated, articulating the words slowly and carefully.

Again, nobody answered.

"Fine, you can testify in court then."

"Go stand facing the wall," Wufei ordered.

Ami, Artemis, and Relena slowly complied. 

"Where is Tsukino?"

Relena nodded towards the couch. 

"Go check on her." Trowa nodded and walked over, feeling her pulse and pulling back her eyelids. 

"Unconscious," he stated as Wufei patted each of the three people against the wall down, removing Artemis's gun and keys, Relena's wallet, and Ami's surgical scissors. 

"I-If I may speak," Relena started softly, slowly turning around and keeping her hands in plain view at all times.

Trowa nodded curtly at her.

"Agent Yui," she indicated Hiiro's form on the ground, "is injured and it is unadvisable to move him at the moment. We'll need Ami to stay with him. And Usagi is in no condition to travel. Besides, she was Agent Yui's mission, not either of yours." She finished strongly and jutted her chin out stubbornly.

Wufei glanced at Trowa to find the taller man glancing at him. Seconds ticked by before finally, Wufei muttered a, "Fine."

"Then Miss Darlian and Mr. Danilo. Please come with us." Trowa moved forward and snapped handcuffs on the two of them, not tight enough to cut off circulation but just pinched enough to hurt. 

"Why are you part of this, Relena?" Trowa muttered to her while making sure the handcuffs were secure. She didn't flinch. 

Out loud, almost proudly, she stated, "I'm Usagi Tsukino's finance, and I help out with Innocence's missions when I can."

Wufei blinked at her in disbelief. "I always thought you were honorable, woman."

Relena shook her head vehemently. "Innocence isn't what you think. It does exactly what you guys do except more secretively and-"

"Are you implying that the government steals?" 

"Innocence does _not_ steal! It simply-"

"Enough." Wufei shook his head. "We need to get going."

Artemis finally looked up. "Where are we headed?"

"Philadelphia."

…………………

"Master Quatre! You have visitors. They're in the patio."

Quatre nodded and got up from behind his desk. The patio door slid open easily as he walked in, expression pleasantly curious until he looked up.

"T-trowa? Wufei? What is this?" He looked from one person to the next, taking in the handcuffs and Artemis's unmistakable features. "Miss Relena!" 

Relena looked bravely into his eyes, daring him to find fault in her.

Instead, Quatre turned to the two Preventers. "Have you two gone mad? What is this?"

"This is Artemis Danilo of Innocence and Vice Foreign Minister Relena Darlian. They are charged with affiliation with Innocence, grand larceny, and conspiracy." 

Quatre blinked. "Why are you here then?"

Trowa sighed and stepped forward. "There have been so many claims that Innocence isn't … isn't what it seems. Plus, we felt that until further confirmation is given, Miss Relena Darlian should not be accused."

"What are you proposing for me to do?"

"You judge in your spare time, are prominent enough. If we don't arrest the two, you have enough weight to hold off the feds. Just hear them out and decide whether or not they should be arrested."

Artemis stared on in disbelief. 

"Trowa…" Relena smiled softly. 

"All right then. We'll hold closed court in Conference Room 4B." Quatre signaled for them to follow him.

…………………

Hmm … a bit odd. I'm finished writing it but … there's probably about 8 or so more chapter left. ^^''' Anyhow … thanks for reading! Yours, Angel. 

Serena Yuy: Lol. Well … Usagi didn't say much this time … but hey! At least there wasn't a fight or anything … yet. ^^;;; Feel free to call me evil. :D Heh heh heh … well … that's the joy of it – taking my sweet time. ^^ But actually, as I did with Picture This, I have almost no patience with updating slowly … so updates will probably come about … twice a week or something, ok? Lol. ^^

Liquid Ice: I'm so very, very flattered. ^^;;; Thanks so much for the compliments though … whether or not I deserve them is an entirely different matter. ~tries to speak but gets light-headed from the blood rushing to her cheeks~ ^^ 

Naiad: Okay … so I lied. Lol. The second best public school system in the U.S. (as of … I'm not sure when), is Plano, Texas (it's pretty close to Dallas) while the best one is somewhere in Chicago … (I'm not sure if it's _in_ Chicago or _near_ Chicago) But I decided to change that because I was afraid that Plano would be too small of a town for people to recognize. Lol. ^^ Naturally, Scaramento was just pulled out of the air randomly. ^^

Princess2000204: Actually … (and I don't really like FF.N for doing this) the chapter _is_ chapter 11 because I don't really count the prologue as a chapter … however, FF.N counts … all chapters as chapters sooo … lol. The number is always off … which really confuses me sometimes. But thanks for telling me about it anyhow! ^^

Vixen: Ahh … sorry to disappoint about the meeting between Usa and Rel. Trowa and Wufei are interesting … lol. As a team, especially. The background story … ~sigh~ Lol. Thanks for all of your comments! ^^

Firefly Princess: "Subconsciously, you now know her past" LOL! ^^ Thanks for all of your _wonderful_ comments! They really brighten my day … lol (more than Fruits Basket, even! ^^) Thanks for your enthusiasm and interest … though I'm sure it had taken a _long_ time to do … ^^;;; I shouldn't be wasting that much of your day … Lol. Thank you so much! (oh, and where did you get that many translations of Furuba manga? O___O)

Thanks go to everybody who read and to those who took the time to review as well. I really appreciate it, guys. ^^ 


	14. Bare Innocence

Disclaimer: Ten more days until the end of school! And I promise – by the end of these days, I will _own_ Gundam Wing and Sailor Moon … and if not … well, there's always summer. 

****

Chapter 13: Bare Innocence

Usagi blinked blearily up at the ceiling, trying to sort through the mess in her mind before gasping and sitting up quickly. 

Ami glanced over at her. "Oh good. You're up."

"What happened? How's Hiiro? Where are Art and Rel?"

Ami shook her head. "Hiiro is doing fine. He's in the bedroom closest to the bathroom and I've almost just completed sewing him up. Keep him on the antibiotics for as long as they last. It's the part I'm worried about – more people than you think die from the infections after the operations and especially in these conditions without an operation room or anything … I'm just happy he was unconscious during it or he would have been in a whole lot of pain."

"And Art and Rel?"

The brunette looked aside, troubled. "And Art and Rel…"

"Yes?" 

"An hour ago, Preventers barged in and took them away."

Usagi's eyes widened. "…What?"

Ami nodded miserably. "The bail will probably be in the millions."

"Innocence can take care of it," Usagi argued.

"Yes, but it will burn a large hole in our pockets." Ami sighed and reached for her. "Are you okay?"

Usagi brushed her off. "I'm fine, I'm fine. But what do we do?"

"_We _don't do anything. _I _will go follow him and _you _will stay here to tend to Hiiro." At every emphasized word, Ami jabbed her pointer finger at Usagi.

"I know, I know. Are you going back to HQ?"

"Yeah. The pilot is still waiting by the helicopter."

"Good, good."

Silence resumed as minutes ticked by and Ami checked on Hiiro once more.

"There's a list of things that you need to do to take care of him on the kitchen counter along with enough antibiotics and other supplies to last for more than two weeks. I've gotta run." Ami grinned back at her, grabbed her jacket and rushed towards the door.

"Be careful!"

"I'm tired of being careful!" she yelled back and slammed the door after her.

…………………

Five minutes later, they were assembled in Conference Room 4B. Relena and Artemis sat across from Quatre while Trowa and Wufei stood to the side. The handcuffs had been removed due to Quatre's urging but the air was still thick with tension. 

Artemis glared at the blonde across from him and then Trowa and Wufei respectively. Informal court commenced with a smart, resounding snap of the gavel. 

"Tell me about Innocence. Remember, you're under oath," Quatre started. 

Artemis snorted but Relena shot him a warning glance. 

"Innocence is a top-secret organization that specializes in returning lost goods to their original owners," he muttered sulkily.

"Returning lost goods?"

"If somebody steals something valuable – papers, jewelry, whatever – the owner gives us a call and we go out and steal it back."

Quatre raised an eyebrow sarcastically. "Very productive, isn't it?"

"Say what you will but it works."

"And what might your usual customers be?"

"Rich, powerful people who wish to remain anonymous," Artemis bit back. Relena, Trowa, and Wufei silently watched the battle of words, marking score.

"And how often do these people come to you?"

"As often as they need us to return something to them."

"A number, please."

"Averaging about three hundred a year."

"And how much do they pay you?"

"Minimum is two mil. It depends on the difficulty of the mission."

"Mr. Danilo, how many wives have you had?"

"How many have you had?" Artemis bit back, surprised at first but recovering quickly.

Quatre folded his hands calmly and stared at the silver-haired man. "Look, Mr. Danilo, I'm judging here, not you, okay?"

Artemis nodded sarcastically.

"That means I ask the questions and you answer them, all right?"

He nodded again.

"Which means you don't ask any questions and I don't give any answers, got it?"

"Got it."

Quatre ignored his ugly tone and continued. "Are we completely clear on that?"

"Yeah."

"Now, Mr. Danilo. How many wives have you had?"

"None."

"How many girlfriends?"

"I don't know."

"Ballpark figure, please."

"Twenty or so."

"How many people have you told about Innocence's true motives?"

"The people with Innocence … that's about it."

"I see." Quatre turned to Relena while Artemis glared daggers at him. "Miss Relena … why are you involved with Innocence?"

She stared boldly back. "I believe it has a just cause and am willing to support it."

"With your money?"

"That's the only way I can."

"Do you influence government decisions for Innocence?"

"Only once."

"And that was when?"

"The debate a week ago." 

Quatre nodded. "All right then. If this is all true, which it should be since you both are sworn to the truth, there isn't going to be any punishment. Miss Relena, I will let you go with a warning, but I strongly suggest you terminate all connections with Innocence."

Relena didn't signal her understanding.

"And Mr. Danilo, I suggest you end this organization or gang or whatever Innocence is right now. If you do, I will personally see that Tsukino Usagi is released and that nobody else would bother about Innocence from now on."

"Yeah, right."

"Is that a refusal, Mr. Danilo?"

Artemis bowed mockingly. "Yes."

Quatre nodded sadly. "Then I promise nothing. My last favor to you will be to let you head back to Innocence headquarters without hindrance."

"I don't need any favors, thanks," Artemis bit back and strode out of the room.

Relena followed but hesitated at the door. "Thank you, Quatre."

He smiled. "No problem. And I'll make sure this Innocence affair is investigated more … if Innocence really does what you two proclaim it does … we've got a headline story here."

Relena smiled and bowed herself out. 

Quatre turned back to Trowa and Wufei. "Well, gentlemen. Go tell Colonel Une that until more decisive paperwork is found regarding Innocence, there will be no actions against it. Please also remind her to research thoroughly before she decides to issue an arrest warrant."

Trowa grinned. "She's not going to like this."

Quatre shrugged. "She wouldn't have liked having lawsuits thrown at her when she arrests people without enough evidence either."

…………………

Usagi stared at his face sadly. He was still deathly pale but the blood had been cleaned up and the situation didn't look as bad. His breathing had resumed to a fairly normal rate and the color was returning to his face even as she noted that it was ashen.

She started as his eyelids fluttered and leaned closer to the bed. "Hiiro?"

He moaned and tried to prop himself up. She stood and tried to hold him down. 

"Hiiro, you must stay lying down for about two to three days," she instructed sternly. 

He continued to struggle stubbornly. Only after he was leaning against the headboard, face beaded with sweat, did he open his eyes. 

"Usagi?" His voice came out hoarse from disuse.

He started to get out of the bed.

"What do you think you're doing? Don't move, Hiiro."

He ignored her. "I need to go file a report on-"

"No you don't. The man that shot you…"

"What happened to him?"

"He was an FBI agent."

"What?!" Hiiro launched himself up and teetered shakily before regaining his balance and heading towards the door, fists clenched to his sides in pain.

"Hiiro! Get back in bed! Doctor's orders," she pleaded.

"Who was that man?"

"I don't know but he was part of the FBI."

"What did you do to him?"

She gulped and looked away.

"You _killed_ him?" he asked incredulously.

"It was simply self defen- Hiiro!" Her eyes widened as his eyes rolled to the back of his head and he fell. She rushed forward and caught him before he hit the ground. "Oh Lord, Hiiro … I told you not to move…" She hugged his unconscious form to her and cried.

Cried for the trials they'd been through.

For the trials yet to come.

…………………

What a weird ending … melodrama is not my thing. Lol. Mmmm … still obsessed with Furuba and YYH … hahaha. Youko finally showed up! I was so happy … lol. (I like the little announcer girl – very interesting). I missed Friday's episode so I'm not positive whether or not Genkai died but … _sigh_. Happy that Yuuske got the power … his spirit animal is simply adorable. ^^ And now I'm babbling … I feel so sorry for Kyo! And … Ayame … hahaha. Thanks for reading, guys! Yours, Angel. 

Jemjols: Lol … I don't mind so much about the reviewing but you haven't updated in a long time either! ^^;;; Hurry up! Go write! We're all waiting here at the sidelines. 

Sakura Kinomoto: Ahh … kill Duo? Heh heh heh … I'm flattered that though you typically read "pure" fanfiction you are reading this! ^^

Sailor Fantasy: Ahh .. thank you so much! And as for Leirbag … I'd like to see _you_ try and phrase it. Lol … well anyhow. ~ahem~.

Naiad: Wow! You've had a chest tube before? Wait … was my description of what had to happen accurate? I was so worried that it would all be false and somebody who had experienced it (like you) would laugh at the ridiculousness of it. Lol. 

Serena Yuy: Aww … poor Wufei. ^^;;; Hmm … you'll see, I think … Wufei is actually quite nice. ^^;;; Sad chapter? Ahh … I'm not sure there are any more happy ones until … (possibly) the end. Heh heh. 

Firefly Princess: You're too sweet! All of you comments make me want to hug you … lol. ^^;;; Ah! And thank you so much for the websites … I started reading right away! ^^ 

Mogui: Thanks for your compliments but, in my honest opinion, this is really nothing compared to your writing! (I still need to review, by the way). But … ah … thanks for your support anyhow! ^^

Princess2000204: Yeah … it did seem a bit too simple of an idea and really gets one to wonder why they hadn't thought of it earlier … well … umm … call it coincidence, okay? Lol. 

Thank you everybody for your thoughtful reviews! 


	15. The Silent Wind is the Strongest

Disclaimer: Don't own Gundam Wing or Sailor Moon. Too tired to come up with anything beyond that. 

****

Chapter 14: The Silent Wind is the Strongest 

Treize was not usually a man to be provoked – he was too collected, too calm, and had too many connections to high places. But that day, it seemed as if the sky had fallen and everything, his entire existence, had all come tumbling down.

He was receiving a reprimand.

He knew it could have been worse, much, much worse. He could have been locked behind bars for a few dozen years. 

The man that had shot Hiiro Yui was found and an autopsy was performed. The suspicions were primarily directed at him because he was head of the sector that agent was in and everybody knew the relationship between Yui and him had always been more than a little rough. 

However, the autopsy revealed that the man had been drinking alcohol previous to the attempted murder and after Treize pulled a few strings and called in a few favors, the case was dismissed due to a lack of evidence. 

So close to having been convicted. There was so much circumstantial evidence against him. He had called the man into his office a few nights before. He had hated Hiiro Yui's guts. Everything pointed to him.

But he wasn't convicted.

And Yui had better watch his step from now on.

…………………

"According to Ami's instructions, I'm supposed to change your bandages every twenty-four hours." Usagi walked into the room, the list of things to do held in front of her face.

"I'll do it myself."

She raised an eyebrow at him. "Oh c'mon, Hiiro. Quit being such a sissy!"

"A sissy?"

"What, are you afraid that I'll dab my hands in bacteria so that your wound will fester and you'll die of a 108 degree fever in a week?"

He stared at her. "I am definitely changing it myself."

"Haha. Stand up." 

Reluctantly, he got up and tried to glare at her but it was too difficult to glare at somebody who was so intent on helping him.

Her expression turned serious as she gently unwound the strip of bandage and dabbed a cotton ball into a bottle of alcohol. Her cool, slender fingers brushed against warm skin as she inspected where the bullet had entered his body. She smelled faintly of antibacterial soap and for some insane reason, it and her proximity to him was maddeningly enticing. He groaned softly to himself and cursed his overworking sex drive.

She didn't seem to notice.

"This is going to sting," she warned him before carefully, almost apologetically, wiping the injury. "Does it hurt?"

He wanted to curse and growl, "Of course it hurts, damn it!" but instead settled with a simple, "No." 

The gentle brushing against his chest stopped and he looked down to see why. Usagi shot him a skeptical look and laughed.

"You're such a bad liar, Hiiro."

"Shut up."

It only seemed to make her laugh harder.

…………………

Artemis sighed frustratedly and tried to concentrate on the new batch of missions his secretary just brought in for the week but found that he couldn't. 

He was almost glad when the secretary opened the line between the two of them and said, "Miss Darlian is on line one."

"Put her through." 

Relena smiled at him on the vid-com.

"Is this a secure line?" was her first question.

He looked at her in mock disbelief. "I'd think after working with Innocence for three years, you'd know that _all_ of our lines are secure."

"You're not good at being egotistic, Artemis," she warned but smiled nevertheless. "I just want to keep in touch with Innocence despite-"

"Despite clear orders not to?"

She grinned sheepishly. "Yeah. Besides, I want to find out what's going on over there in Calais."

"I see. Are you going to be backing us financially?"

"And through my influence. Just like old times. Except I won't tag along with you guys anymore."

"About time," he muttered. "Well, the silent wind is always the strongest."

"Yeah, sure. Whatever." Relena shook her head and rolled her eyes but smiled. "Has Usagi or Hiiro contacted you in any way?"

When Artemis didn't answer, she frowned. "Are you okay, Artemis?"

"I _don't_ want either of them to contact me because I don't _want_ to know."

Relena blinked bemusedly.

"I saw something in Usagi's eyes when we first arrived … something more powerful than panic. Something that was directed completely to that bastard Yui."

Relena shook her head disapprovingly. "Give it up, Artemis. You can't keep on hating every fed out there."

"Watch me."

"Honestly! You men are absolutely impossible."

He arched an eyebrow. "And women aren't?"

"But truly … you can't keep on hating Hiiro Yui because that thing you saw in Usagi's eyes was … well-"

Artemis panicked. "If you say love, I'll have to kill you."

Relena grinned. "Give me a break, Art. You know it was love and so do I. If she knows it too then you're going to have to get along with Hiiro Yui if you want to get along with Usagi Tsukino."

"Why do you have to always be right?"

She beamed at him. "Stop being the overprotective older brother, Art. Usagi can decide for herself whether or not she's interested in Hiiro." 

"But she's everything to me!" he protested and realized it was true.

"And that won't change even if she loves Hiiro. Her love for you won't diminish in any way, knowing Usagi."

"Are you sure?"

Relena laughed. "You look like a five-year-old like that, Art."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes, yes. I'm sure. Since I'm always right, and all." She smiled at Artemis's indignant face and twinkled her fingers at him. "Talk to you later."

"B-bu-"

The screen turned black.

…………………

Fairly boring chapter. I skimmed the next few chapters and, personally, I don't think it gets particularly interesting until … ahhh … well … it never gets _really_ interesting but … hopefully it won't bore you to sleep from next chapter on. Heh heh. As always, thanks for reading. Yours, Angel.

Firefly Princess: Ah … heh heh. _Blushes_. Don't worry about reviewing late! Better late than never! :D I meant for Hiiro to faint mainly because of his physical state but … I think your suggestion/speculation makes more sense. ^^;;; Usagi? Poor girl? Heh heh … wait until later. 

Crazygurl70: Thank you so much! ^^ Heh heh … posh. :D Err ... rainbows…? Hahaha … niiiice. ^___~

Jemjols: You updated! I _am_ so very proud of you … now when are you going to update again? Heh heh. :D I think the ending is happy! But … very often a lot of people don't agree with me on my idea of happy/sad. Odd, ne? 

Naiad: It's okay about the chest tube. Heh … kind of relieved that you didn't know … heh. Genkai and the blue-haired guy a couple? Wow … But I'd heard a while back that Genkai was going to die (and she did in the episode on Wednesday) so I was kind of dreading it … But I'm fairly happy that she didn't die in an actual match of the tournament. So cool that she won years back though! I seriously dislike Taguro (sp?). Poor Yuuske … _sigh_. Genkai was pretty as a girl … the voice was a bit weird and she was half Taguro's height when they stood next to each other (heh ^^) but I think she is very cool. ^^;;; Anyhow … sorry for all this babbling. 

Thanks to everybody who reviewed! ^^


	16. Shadow in the Night

Disclaimer: Nope, nothing has changed since last update. I have not recently won the lottery and bought Gundam Wing or Sailor Moon. I'll notify you of further updates. ^^;;;

Thanks go to Ashika for editing! Ah! You're back! _Huggles_. ^^ (that is such a cute word … huggles. ^^;;;)

****

Chapter 15: Shadow in the Night

Quatre stared blankly at the large legal-sized folder marked with the dark, bold letters, "confidential". His hand slowly reached for it and carefully, almost reverently, he broke the protective seal and breathed in deeply. Innocence's fate rested in the documents the folder contained. 

"Mr. Winner, you have a visitor. She insisted on coming in." His secretary looked more than a bit miffed at having been disobeyed by said visitor but ducked her head obediently as he nodded his consent. Relena Darlian strode into the room, face drawn and weary, the same look of apprehension and anxiety on her face as he was positive marred his. 

"Quatre," she stated simply, nodding her head cordially before seating herself opposite of him. She knew what she was there for and so did he. No words passed between them as he slowly flipped through the substantial stack of papers from the folder. None were needed to express the matter that would result depending on the results and conclusions drawn from the private report. 

His heart thudded in his ears and the ticking of the clock seemed to drown out almost all other sounds in the room. He could feel her gaze on him as he searched for the words he wanted and dreaded the ones he feared. 

Quatre broke into a smile. 

"Innocence's allegations refuted," he read aloud, voice hoarse but proud. 

Instead of seeing Relena's joyful expression, as he had expected, Quatre looked up to see Relena looking down, troubled. 

"Miss Relena?"

"What does this spell for Innocence? How would the ESUN possibly believe this?"

Quatre paused and stared at her. "Listen to yourself, Miss Relena. You don't sound at all as you should. Remember, you," he fixed her with a sharp gaze though she still refused to look up, "are the Vice Foreign Minister. You are one of the most highly trusted government officials. Are you backing out now? Is this the girl who, at age sixteen, stood in front of the world and accepted her position as its Queen?"

Nothing disturbed the pause that followed except the faint, faraway clicking of his secretary's keyboard and the distant sound of a TV outside, turned to CNN all day long. 

"Y-you're right." He leaned back in relief as Relena smiled and nodded determinedly. "But what might we do with Innocence?"

"Nothing."

"Nothing?"

"Innocence doesn't pose as a threat to the government and the ESUN knows that. Therefore, unless our government is really far more corrupted than I had imagined, there is nothing to fear. The ESUN has nothing to hold against Innocence, especially since Artemis is so good at hiding his tracks."

"Innocence will remain … intact?"

Quatre mirrored Relena's smile as both took in the literal and connotative meaning of the statement. "I see nothing wrong with it. Artemis Danilo is a stubborn man, deadly even, if he wishes to be. We should be glad he is what he is. His purity of belief might save Innocence and our world, after all." 

"There is only one problem left…"

"Problem?"

"Tsukino Usagi."

…………………

Artemis had always been famed to be a willful man and through the past two days, Hiiro realized how much of this characteristic had rubbed off on Usagi. For a moment, the thought of the silver-haired man unleashed a vague sense of unease at the pit of his stomach, and he unconsciously clenched his jaw in annoyance. 

Artemis had everything. He was pursuing his dream and attaining it fairly efficiently, as easily seen through the quantitative records of Innocence. He was in charge of his life, following the path he wanted to, and didn't regret anything. And he had … Usagi…

Hiiro Yui's life had always been a mess, and even he knew that. Every good thing that had ever happened to him had been a mishap, an accident. Relena was first. Duo, second. Usagi, third. But every planned step in _his_ chosen path had led to disaster after disaster. 

Artemis Danilo was twenty-two, in the prime of his life, and ready to go beyond his dream and step into life.

Hiiro Yui was twenty-two, in the prime of his life, and ready to die. 

…………………

__

Tsukino Usagi. Relena's utterance of the name still echoed in his mind as he stared at the number on the post-it note in front of him. He had heard of Treize Khushrenada, a relentless man who rose quickly to second-in-command, Chief of Deputies, in the FBI. He also had heard glowing reports of the man as he climbed the ladder to success and had to admit that Treize Khushrenada fitted the job description almost perfectly. 

With Usagi Tsukino, Quatre had to admit that Treize was simply doing his job and doing a pretty damn good job of it had Hiiro not turned the tables. It would be hard to convince one so devoted to his work to let one of the ESUN's ten most wanted to slip through his fingers without a fight. But Quatre had trained for years in the art of persuasive speaking.

"FBI in New York City, what can I do for you?"

"I would like to speak with Mr. Khushrenada."

"Is Mr. Khushrenada expecting this call?"

"No."

"Mr. Khushrenada is not accepting any calls at the current moment. Might you call back at another hour?" The female voice at the other end now sounded bored, as if she had recited this line a thousand times and over, which Quatre didn't doubt.

"Tell him Quatre Winner is on the line and wishes to discuss with him the matters involving Tsukino Usagi." 

The voice faltered and Quatre smiled to himself. His name had an amazing way of opening doors. 

"B-but of course, Mr. Winner. I'll put you through right away."

"I appreciate it."

…………………

"Hiiro? Are you awake?" 

He didn't budge, and she sighed to herself, easing her body through the doorway and tiptoeing to the seat she had moved beside his bed. She peered at him closely. "Hiiro?" she whispered in the darkness, just in case, and received no response. 

Usagi sat down in the chair next to the bed and smiled into the darkness. "You know, you really scared me with that whole bleeding to death scenario. Especially since I couldn't speak enough French to even get the operator to get me a doctor." She laughed softly at this. "But those three hours together with help on the way … it suddenly seemed as if … everything around me changed. The things I cared about were forgotten and the things I couldn't care less about were more important than my own life." 

There was a pause as she sat, blinking back tears, in the dark. "I told you my past. I tried everything I could to save you but … I guess you wouldn't know that. But it wasn't until this afternoon that I finally confronted my worries and realized that … everything I'd said was true. I…I do care about you Hiiro … maybe even to the extreme of love."

Another pause resulted as she let the words sink in, both for him and herself. 

"But it's so difficult to believe in it. Every time you wake up, ordering me to bring you your cell phone so that you might call Treize … don't you realize that's what they _want_ you to do? I worry about you, Hiiro. But I can honestly swear to you that I have enough power to make sure there isn't any danger until I say so." Her last words came out determinedly, in a short and vehement whisper as she stood up and stared a moment longer at him, lingering. Hesitantly, she leaned in and brushed her lips against his cheek.

"Sweet dreams, Hiiro."

The stripe of light upon the cream carpet thinned away to nothing. 

………………….

"Hello, Mr. Winner." Treize's voice sounded syrupy-sweet in his ear and Quatre winced. It was another thing his name was particularly good at – attracting suck-ups and gold-diggers like a magnet. 

"Mr. Khushrenada," he began pleasantly, "I would like to discuss one Usagi Tsukino if you don't mind. I believe she is on your ten most wanted criminals list…" He let the sentence waver and hang in the air.

Treize's voice instantly changed from saccharine sweet to forced as he barely squeezed out a grudging "Yes? What about Usagi Tsukino?"

Quatre frowned at the roadblock and looked up to his ceiling, trying to approach the question he was about to ask and realizing there was no nicer way of saying it. "What are the chances of her being acquitted of all previous crimes?"

The answer was as quick as the question was hesitant. "None." Treize's voice, by then, was tight and cold, the anger barely suppressed and only done because he was Quatre Winner. It was obvious that being second in command at the FBI didn't do much for Treize's chance of becoming easy-going and flexible. 

"What is she accused of?"

"Mr. Winner, not to be impolite, but what are you getting at?" From Treize's tone of voice, it was clear that he didn't give much about being impolite or not.

"Curiosity. Though … suppose Innocence wasn't on Miss Tsukino's record. Might she have a chance at being acquitted? Hypothetically speaking, of course." 

"No."

Quatre frowned and leaned forward in his seat. In a nonchalant and clearly self-possessed voice, he asked, "And what else might she be accused of?"

"First degree murder of Duo Maxwell."

Quatre blinked as the line went dead. He was surprised that Treize's ego allowed him to have even lasted long enough to tell him the accusation but the last bit of news transcended the meaning of surprising.

…………………

Hiiro blinked up at the ceiling and slowly pushed himself up to a sitting position. It was dark outside and even darker in the room. The curtains fluttered as a breeze blew through the open window, chilling the air around him. He didn't know what had woken him up and scanned the shadowed room suspiciously, peering into the dark corners and moving as silently and slowly as possible. 

He vaguely remembered Usagi coming into the room while he pretended to be asleep. Her words and the raw emotion bleeding through them remained fresh and vibrant in his mind, and the shock at her thinking she was in love with him would not fade for at least another few days. 

Hiiro remembered looking up at her through slitted eyes as she talked and remembered the otherworldly effect that the single ray of artificial light from the kitchen outside had on her dark golden hair and half-shadowed face. Her light blue eyes were so shaded that they almost looked black, and at her promise to keep danger away, Usagi looked much more intimidating than he had remembered.

But now the house was quiet with the clock the only sound, but only if he listened hard. There was not a single sound; no cars passed by. So what had woken him up?

A shadow twitched and his eyes flew to it. A tendril of fear crawled up his spine, something that he wasn't too familiar with. His wounded and weak state was frustrating and for the first time in his life, Hiiro Yui feared that he might die. Though Heaven knew why he cared. 

The shadow leapt forward as Hiiro scrambled out of bed. Before he could move another inch, the figure was out the window. Hiiro rushed to the ledge and stared outside. A dark figure was already yards away, sprinting to the nearest gathering of shadow. 

He vaguely remembered a figure dressed in all black with bright eyes that flickered to him. Hiiro returned to bed, shaken, and decided he couldn't sleep for the rest of the night. Instead, he tried to sort through his memories of what had happened and what it might have meant. The only thing he had been sure about that night was that not one word was to be said about any of this to Usagi.

…………………..

Ahh … the phone call was so off. I can almost definitely say that that is _not_ how the FBI handle their phone calls. Heh … ^^;;; Someone a long time ago had mentioned that they wished to see a certain character in this fic and … only in the middle of March (when I wrote this chapter …heh heh. ^^;;;) did I extemporaneously decide to throw that character in…it's not that much of a surprise, I don't think. You'll see! ^^ Thanks for reading! Yours, Angel.

Mogui: Ah! I'm so flattered! Those comments … especially coming from you! ^^;;; 

Serena Yuy: Lol … "Heero. Safe." ^^ I think Treize's role in this kind of diminishes from now on … however … in the future I hope to delve more in his character instead of using him as a pure and simple bad guy. Lol. Ah well…

Firefly Princess: Your reviews always make my day! So sweet! ^^ But if I wanted to become a professional writer, first I'll have to at least pass Callie-chan. Heh heh. 

Naiad: Hiiro a sissy … heehee. It made me want to laugh so I threw it in there. ^^;;; Usagi has been very abusive of him in this fic … lol … first naïve and now sissy. ^^ Too much homework? Hmm … school is almost over over here (by this Friday) … but I think our school system finishes a bit earlier because we start early. Heh … that was completely pointless. ^^;;; Ack! I was so disappointed when they restarted YYH without my watching the last episode they broadcasted … did Yusuke and co finish the final round? Did Kurama fight yet? (Heh ^^;;;) I'm assuming they didn't finish the Dark Tournament completely because it couldn't possibly take just two eps (or three … I missed all of the ones with them at the finals. ) to defeat Taguro and co. Hmm … this was such a long note. Heh. ^^;;;

Jupiter Angel: I didn't bother to include a lot of people. Heh. Hopefully they'll come in later if I decide to go ahead and do a sequel … I'm not sure. And I promise I'll find time to go through your stories! Summer's almost here so I'll be able to do it soon. ^^

Princess2000204: Hmm … Rel/Art … what an interesting theory. Well … it was either that or Rel/Quatre but really … I didn't have any couples planned besides Usa/Hiiro and, in the beginning, Usa/Duo and Usa/Mamo. ^^;;;

Thanks everybody for reviewing! ^^


	17. Recalled to Life

Disclaimer: Hmmmm … Idon'townGWorSM. That translates to … Idon town Gwor SM. There. I said it. Lol. ^^

A big bunch of thanks and pocky to Ashika for editing! Lol…

****

Chapter 16: Recalled to Life

Artemis didn't blink as his secretary walked in through the door and handed him his daily mail even though he was startled out of his thoughts. He didn't blink when he flipped through the thick and thin envelopes to one with the return address of Quatre Winner. And though he didn't blink when he opened the letter and read it, his eyebrows slowly rose and disappeared under silver bangs as he digested every word.

Winner's gesture was phenomenal. Despite threats and bluffs, Quatre had, after all, decided to petition for Innocence and had gotten as far as he could get with his influence – preventing the government from laying a finger on Innocence until something drastic occurred.

But the good news didn't come alone. Accompanying it, Quatre informed him of the situation Usagi was in. It was desperate and unless Artemis thought of something to do and fast, Usagi would find herself waiting with twenty-two others come September on death row. 

…………………

It was difficult recalling the past night's events when morning came, being drugged on antibiotics and mild painkillers and all, but, after briefly falling asleep for less than an hour right before dawn, Hiiro mulled over the incident. The most obvious conclusion would have been that last night's intruder had been one of Treize's henchmen, out, on orders, for his blood. But, for some reason, his gut instinct told him that Treize had absolutely nothing to do with last night.

"Rise and shine, sleepy-head!" Usagi grinned as she held the door open with her foot, both hands occupied with balancing the breakfast tray. Hiiro jumped and winced as his wound throbbed briefly.

"Let's see … today's room service special was bacon, scrambled eggs, and French toast … how 'bout it, Hiiro?" 

He stared starkly at her before calmly replying, no betraying smile on his face, "It's better than anything you would have cooked."

Usagi didn't take it personally and instead grinned down at him. "Looks like you're well enough to be cracking jokes. According to Ami's instructions, you should be up and about any day now." 

Hiiro made an attempt to get out of bed but was instantly pushed back down by a stubborn Usagi, shaking her head adamantly. "Nope. Not yet."

"Ami's instructions says I should be up any day now," he argued back coolly, raising an eyebrow at her. "And I have work to do."

"Yeah well, everybody has work to do and Ami's instructions say sometime _later_ this week."

"Am I allowed to see these instructions?"

Usagi tilted her head to one side and studied him for a protracted amount of time. "Are you calling me a liar?"

"No."

"Then what are you saying?"

"That I know my body better than some doctor across the-" He stopped abruptly and jerked to an upright position, eyes darting around the room as he slowly pulled the covers back and attempted to stand up.

Usagi followed the sudden change of mood and glanced uneasily about the room with him. "What is it?"

"I heard something."

She instantly stilled herself and sifted through her pockets surreptitiously, finding that all weapons had been left in her bedroom and muttering a curse under her breath.

"Somebody was in my room last night," he murmured in a low tone as he stood stiffly beside her wearing only sweatpants and an intense look of suspicion and vigilance. 

Usagi started and whirled to glare at him. "And you didn't tell me earlier?! What is this, Hiiro? Don't you know I'm on _your_ side?"

"I didn't want to worry you." It sounded like a reasonable enough explanation to him but one eyeful of Usagi's darkening expression and the reasoning didn't seem too great anymore. 

"You could've been _killed_, Hiiro! Why can't you just admit that you need other people's help?!"

"He's always been like that."

Usagi and Hiiro both started and tensed at the new voice. 

"Who are you?" she asked in a quiet tone, glancing around the room and balling her fists so that she might be ready for a head-on attack. 

"Somebody you know very well…" the voice returned, suddenly sentimental and almost wistful. 

She frowned but kept up with the conversation, knowing the voice was familiar and buying herself time to place it. "How did you get in here?"

"Window." The voice was most definitely masculine though she couldn't ascertain exactly from where it was coming from and from Hiiro's all defensive stance, he couldn't either. 

"How do you know Hiiro?"

"He's pretty famous in my world … pretty famous in yours too, I might add."

Usagi knew the voice was now taunting her but she decided not to push her luck, choosing to play along. "Why are you here?"

There was no answer.

…………………

Treize groaned, making a note in his planner to fire his secretary come Wednesday. Apparently, his long chase of Tsukino Usagi had leaked out to the press and his secretary, unaware, had scheduled him an interview with a reporter from the New York Times. It was difficult to decide to go on with the interview, considering it was a lose-lose situation for him. If he had decided against it, it would have been obvious that he had something to hide, but going with it could mean his involuntarily giving away a crucial detail. 

"Mr. Khushrenada," the reporter greeted. Treize immediately disliked her as she sat down opposite of him without being invited to. 

Her formal pantsuit complimented her nicely and arranged itself becomingly when she sat. She brought out a tape recorder, placed it onto his desk, and started it. Chewing the end of her pen, she readied her notepad and finally settled down.

"Thank you for giving me the opportunity to interview you for the New York Times, Mr. Khushrenada," she started. He nodded mutely, mentally aware that if it had been his decision, this interview would never have taken place. "We've heard rumors lately about your almost … obsessive chase of Usagi Tsukino. Can you explain to us why?"

"She's a criminal and needs to be put behind bars. And she's been out for far too long and I swore to myself at the beginning of my appointment as Head of Deputies to finally arrest her."

"So you bear no grudge against her?"

"I bear a grudge against all criminals."

The reporter scribbled away furiously but from the small frown playing on her face, he could tell that his impassive answers frustrated her. 

_Beat that, _he thought to himself as he readied himself for further questioning.

…………………

Usagi cleared her throat and glanced uncomfortably around. "Why are you here?" she repeated. 

Finally, the voice sighed and enigmatically replied, "Why don't you answer that yourself."

She didn't take the hint. "Are you out for Hiiro?"

"Not really."

"Then…"

"I'm here because of you, Usagi."

"Here because of…"

Hiiro had had enough of being passive and clenched his fists to his sides. "Cut the crap and answer the question."

"Nope, sorry, Hiiro. I don't take orders from you."

Usagi remained unhearing and unseeing as she repeated the voice's last answer to herself slowly, contemplating it. "Here because of me … here … because of…" she paused and frowned suspiciously. "…me?"

"Here because of you," the voice echoed.

…………………

Treize had to admit to himself that the interview went pretty well. All of his answers led to nowhere. Or, at least, to nowhere that the reporter wanted to go. In short, the New York Times now knew that there was no story here.

"Mr. Khushrenada, a man came by this morning and left this by my phone." The soon to be jobless secretary stepped into his room and handed him a blank envelope with nothing on it except a simple "T. Khushrenada" on its front. He waited until she was out of the room before opening it almost cautiously, wary of anything besides a letter that the envelope might contain.

The paper crinkled as he slowly unfolded it and Treize's frown grew deeper and deeper as he scanned it, skimming once before going back and reading it more detailedly a second time. 

Shaking his head slowly, ignoring that he was deathly pale, Treize watched as the paper shredder slowly tore the letter down to thin strips. Was this some sick joke?

…………………

"Stop being a coward and show yourself," Usagi ordered shakily. "If you're who I think you are … you'll have nothing to hide."

"Nothing to hide…" the voice pondered over this. "I suppose it couldn't hurt…"

"Promise to come out with your hands raised." Her voice wavered as she pleaded rather than ordered. 

Hiiro prepared his fists as a shadowy figure headed towards them, but Usagi moved to stand in front of him, her body shielding the anonymous person. He growled in frustration as the figure drew closer. 

Hiiro gaped and staggered back as, finally, it was plain who the voice had been. Usagi, however, didn't do anything but close her eyes for a shuddering moment and smile weakly at the intruder. 

Then, voice soft and almost casual, she carefully said, "How's it been, Duo?"

…………………

Waaahhh~!!! I'm so happy! DUO! Heh heh heh … I missed you. ^^;;; Anyhow … slight turn of events … this is ending at chapter 20! Wow … flies by, doesn't it? Lol. Next chapter is a bit touchy-feely. Lol … Thanks for reading! Yours, Angel.

Kylara: Lol … even if I hear that a lot (which I don't … haha. -___-;;;) each and every one are still as special! As cliched as that sounds … ^^;;; 

Princess2000204: Heh heh heh … hints … actually … the only people I describe as to having bright eyes are Quatre, Duo, and girls. So … it couldn't be Quatre … but you'd probably have to know me pretty well to figure out the bright eyes part. Lol. ^^;;;

Firefly Princess: Treize's "cronies" … LOL. ^^ Write!!! Soon! Lol…


	18. To Learn to Love

Disclaimer: Too busy sleeping and eating during the last few weeks to think much about procuring GW or SM … so … the mission resumes, ne? Haha … watch out world! ^^;;;

Thanks go to **Ashika nee-chan** for being so patient with me! ::bows:: And, of course for beta-reading. ::luffs:: 

Ahhh~! ::stretches:: It's good to be back, minna-san! ^^ The break was nice … :D ::ahem:: So … down to business? Rofl … the title's trite so … please ignore it. XD Happy reading!

Note: I don't know if I mentioned this last chapter or not (I don't think I did) but the title for chapter 16 (Recalled to Life) was from Tale of Two Cities (again! XD) … err … Part I, I believe. :D

****

Chapter 17: To Learn to Love

"Are you … real?" 

For the first time in the short amount of time she had stayed with Hiiro, Usagi heard his voice waver and break with uncertainty. Glancing back towards him, having almost forgotten that he was there, she frowned as he refused to even look at Duo, as if questioning his eyesight and mental state. 

"Course I'm real, Hiiro! If I wasn't, would I be able to do this to you?" In a friendly gesture, Duo gently punched Hiiro on the shoulder, grinning. Usagi's frown deepened as Hiiro staggered back before getting a hold of himself. 

"Hiiro … are you all right?" She stepped towards him and laid a gentle hand on his other shoulder, eyes darkened with concern. 

Duo frowned lightly and tried to shake off the nagging feeling in the back of his mind. Usagi's voice towards Hiiro had been tender and soft, almost, if he hadn't known better, loving. And beyond friendly, too. He pushed the thought to the back of his mind and mentally scolded himself for being paranoid. 

"I'm … fine," Hiiro muttered, almost as if to himself, before slowly shaking his head and looking up, eyes once again cold, the moment of human weakness freezing over. "Where … have you been, Duo?"

"Oh … well … y'know. Places."

Usagi raised a skeptical brow and, attempting to lighten the dense atmosphere, grinned. "So you've been 'places' for more than two months?"

Duo sighed. "Okay, fine. I admit it. I was taking a vacation. Besides, I really needed a break from Treize and his arrogant ass."

Usagi laughed and shrugged but upon turning back to Hiiro, she found his frace frozen and hard, darkened with something akin to rage and hatred directed completely at his best friend. 

The words came out deliberate and cold, chilling the ambiance once again. "You were taking a vacation while everybody who cared for you believed you were dead? You better have a damn better excuse than that, Maxwell."

Hiiro's words carried the effect of shouting though his voice barely lifted above a growl. Duo gulped and smiled weakly. "All right, all right. I realize how stupid I'd-"

"You're damn right."

Duo continued, unfazed. "-been but really, Hiiro. I'd just been shot by Usa over there and after supposedly bleeding to death, they dumped me off in some dark alley in the middle of NYC and told me to come back when I'm ready. Well, really. I wasn't ready until now."

"Why … why did the reports say that you died, Duo?" Usagi gave up at lifting the atmosphere and settled for asking a question that had been bothering her ever since her suspicion that Duo was really the voice arose. Her voice cracked and she looked aside, the last words dying away in a whisper. 

Duo sighed and leaned tiredly against the wall behind him. "Well … it's pretty complicated. Treize believed that I had been accomplices with you but nothing could stick on me. Plus the doctors suggested that perhaps after the shot, I went into shock and couldn't discern you from the description I gave them. Treize hated having been thwarted but there was nothing he could do. So, like the high-powered official that he is, he dumped the situation into Trowa and Wufei's hands. They decided to fake my death and get rid of me, realizing that my reporting back too soon to Treize could lead to trouble. So we decided that I would wait until the situation simmered down a bit before, well … I headed back to work."

"So the FBI lied to the entire ESUN and you went along with it." Hiiro's tone of voice didn't need to be reproachful to hurt. 

"There wasn't much else I could do but…" Duo's eyes narrowed as Usagi's hand, almost with a nature of its own, sought out Hiiro's and Hiiro accepted it without much of an indication. The sinking feeling in the bottom of his stomach intensified as he fought to resume his words. "But … that doesn't change anything … does it?"

"Duo," Usagi's voice sounded gentle and feminine in the room as she uttered his name in a brief sigh. "You were reported dead to the press. To the ESUN, you _are_ dead. If you head back to Treize, he is going to have to come up with some explanation as to why the FBI gave a false report to the people and it's probably going to get pinned on somebody completely innocent."

Duo's hopeful expression crumbled. "I … I can't go back?"

"What she's saying is that you can but you're going to call in a hell of a lot of favors."

Duo's frown intensified as he looked downwards, thinking out the situation. "Either Quatre or Relena will be able to handle it," he decided, but the troubled frown never left his face as he looked back up. "But Usa … are things still the same … between us?"

…………………

Treize stared pensively at the towering stack of paperwork in front of him. Against his will, his eyes glanced over to the trashcan and the paper shredder capping it. Involuntarily, his hand slowly reached out to grab twenty something slivers of paper that could seal his fate. 

As if the paper had sparked a burst of energy in him, Treize instantly got down to work, flipping open his laptop and accessing the FBI database, entering a level four code to access the results in the search for 'Tsukino, Usagi'.

He scanned the page quickly, scrolling down to the vital section dated when Maxwell had been reported dead and highlighted the names next to it – Trowa Barton and Wufei Chang. 

"Stephanie, call Agents Chang and Barton to my office."

"Of course, Mr. Khushrenada."

…………………

"Are things still the same between us…?" Usagi repeated the words slowly as if slowly figuring out their underlying meaning. "Duo, I…"

"Usagi." She turned back to face Hiiro. "What was the relationship between you and Duo prior to his death?"

Before she could open her mouth to answer, Duo jumped in with a defiant, "We were lovers. And, if I may ask, what is the relationship between _you_ and Usagi right now?" He threateningly took a step towards Hiiro, but Hiiro didn't falter.

"We're friends."

"Are you sure?"

"Friends." 

Duo's expression looked more like he had been hit in the face rather than relieved. Then, noting the soft frown playing on Hiiro's face and Usagi's cold, unseeing stare at the wall, he stepped back slowly and closed his eyes briefly. "Are you trying to convince me, Hiiro, or yourself?"

………………..

Trowa sighed and chanced a glance towards Wufei, flinching at the highly reproachful look shot towards him. "Take a deep breath and bluff your way through."

"Sorry, Barton. That's not my way of doing things."

When Trowa didn't say anything, Wufei continued, whispering fiercely, "This is all your fault, you know? Why out of all the options we had, did you have to choose this one? We should have just brought Relena to Khushrenada and be done with it. But _you_ had to go out of your way and take her to _Quatre_ to save her!"

"Wufei, hush. And I don't believe now is the time to assign blame," Trowa whispered back. He briefly saluted the guard at the door, Wufei following his lead, and checked in with the secretary. She nodded, shot them a curious look, but at the last moment decided not to ask. The door swung open and she ducked out of the way.

"Chang, Barton. How good are your memories?" Treize didn't bother looking up, still scribbling away at his legal pad. Trowa had expected shouts, curses, or even flying projectiles, but this was the last thing on the agent's mind. Treize barely looked disturbed as he carefully took his reading glasses off, rubbed his hands over his face, and finally turned to look at them.

"Well-"

"Never mind. Don't answer that. Do you remember an assignment I gave the two of you not too far back?"

"Well, sir, there were many assignments," Trowa replied delicately.

"An assignment regarding Duo Maxwell?"

Trowa tensed as Wufei scowled.

…………………

"Convincing you or myself? What kind of a question is that?" Hiiro snapped but Duo didn't back off.

"Do you honestly believe that you are not in love with Usagi?"

An uncomfortable silence passed. "Yes."

"Stop trying to delude yourse-"

"Shut up." Duo looked up in surprise to meet Usagi's pleading eyes. "Stop talking about me as if I'm not here!"

"Well … what do you feel, Usa?" Duo's voice came out softly, like a breath of air, as he waited for his heart to break.

She looked aside, a clear look of uncertainty marring her smooth complexion. "I … I don't suppose I know…"

"Usagi…" The bottom of Duo's entire existence had fallen out and he faced a dark abyss of disappointment and hurt. "Usagi, look into my eyes and tell me that you don't love Hiiro." 

Her eyes turned steely as she glared at him. "Stop making me do this! You know I can't do it!" 

"Usagi?" Her eyes widened. She had almost forgotten that Hiiro was still there.

"Well, Hiiro. Can you do it?" Duo challenged, arching an eyebrow at his best friend.

Usagi clutched her fist to her chest as an eternity passed.

"…No."

"And why is that?"

"Duo, you have no right to be doing this."

"Doing what? Changing your lives for the better?"

"No, sticking your nose into our private affairs."

Usagi shook her head, drawing both men's attentions to her. "I'm tired of playing charades, Hiiro. I admit it. I love you." She didn't look up.

A moment passed as nobody spoke before Duo let out a frustrated sigh and demanded, "Well, what do you have to say to that, Hiiro?"

"I…"

"You…?" Hiiro glared at Duo as the braided man attempted to coach him by mouthing the words to him.

He abruptly turned to Usagi. "How can you love me? I've done all the worst possible things to you … how can you love me?"

"I don't really know … But I know that you also evoke the most … wondrous feelings inside of me…"

Duo rolled his eyes and made as if he were jabbing a finger in his mouth, gagging.

Hiiro stared at her. "I love … you, too."

Duo grinned as Usagi flung herself to Hiiro before pausing and frowning to himself. What had he just done? Given the love of his life to his best friend without not only much of a fight but actually with _encouragement_. He sighed and stared at the beautiful picture in front of him and decided the ends justified the means.

…………………

"I'm not angry, just disappointed."

Trowa had never even dreamed of the day Treize would say something like that.

"I'm disappointed that you did not log what you did to Duo Maxwell in the database and lied to the press and the world. I'm disappointed because…"

"Sir, we realize that Duo Maxwell's death is the only tangible thing you have against Usagi Tsukino." Trowa silently jabbed Wufei in the stomach. Even at a time like this, Wufei was saying things bad enough to be taunts.

"Yes, well … this whole debacle will cause me some embarrassment. So until this is over and plus another half year, the two of you are put on hold. Once you come back, you will be put on probation for six months. Be glad you weren't arrested for falsifying reports, boys." He nodded at them curtly, signaling that they should leave before he changed his mind. 

Trowa grinned at Wufei as they walked down the hallway, unfazed when the Asian agent glared back. "Pack your bags, Wufei, we're going on a six-month vacation."

The Asian agent scowled darkly and bit out two simple words: "Without pay."

…………………

"Duo, how much longer are you going to be staying here?" The addressed person shrugged and grinned ruefully. 

"I suppose I'll get going now…" He lingered and glanced at the serene picture in front of him, Hiiro sitting on the sofa after the three of them had had lunch together while Usagi leaned upon his shoulder, sleeping. "…Don't want to disturb the happy couple and all…"

Hiiro stared at his best friend and shook his head slowly. "You can stay as long as you want."

"But I can't. I have one majorly pissed off upper official to deal with." Duo winced and smiled. 

A moment of silence passed as both stared at the third occupant of the room, one memorizing her features and the other marveling at them. 

"You know … I'm sorry…"

"There's nothing to be sorry about. It was her decision and I couldn't make her go against something she wanted."

Hiiro shook his head. "If you hadn't gone away, she would still be with you."

"But maybe He arranged it that way. I mean, I know you're an atheist but … who knows…"

Another pause passed as a sense of serenity floated down over the three people, eliminating the previous tense and guilty ambiance. 

"Well. I should get going right about now." 

Hiiro looked up, surprised. "But … don't you want to say good-bye to her?" 

Duo shrugged and grinned cockily. "Why would I do that? I know I'll see her again." Then, seeing Hiiro's serious face, he sighed and his grin drooped. "I just don't want her to feel guilty or apologize to me for something she had no control over."

He headed towards the door as Hiiro sat, watching him closely. Before reaching it, he hesitantly turned around and glanced meekly at Hiiro. "May I … kiss her?"

At the softening of Hiiro's usually stark features, Duo turned and, almost reverently, brushed the waves away from her face, gently pecking her on the cheek. Then, smiling softly down at her, and nodding towards Hiiro, he exited the door. 

It was the next morning when Usagi woke up with the faintest recollection of somebody whispering "I love you" into her ear.

…………………

Wow … revisiting this fic has been something of a nightmare! o_o This chapter (and the last few to come) were all written around spring break time … lolol. But … kinda gave up and didn't edit too much. ^^;;; Even if every Hiiro/Usagi/Duo scene was insanely awkward … and redundant. xD Hang in there, minna-san! It's almost over. ^^;;;

Firefly Princess: Waiiii! I'm glad you're back. ^^ (and also am very flattered that you visited this first. ^^) Though … I never actually knew the changing of scenes actually worked! Lol … you exaggerate, right? ^^;;; Careful! Don't fall off that chair … rofl … you have such a way with words. ::blushes::

Sadie Joy :: Neko Neko: Lol … ahhh, yes. The online time restriction thingi. I'm a bit too familiar with that. Rofl. You read fast, y'know? It's great to have you here. :D

Lynn: Err … ::stutters:: thankyouverymuch! :DDD

Hot_chick_1231: Wow … I didn't quite know how obvious I was until now … lol. xD Yes, Duo's the shadow in Hiiro's room … heh. Thanks you so much for the compliments … I'll keep them even if they're undeserved~! 3

Misty H: ::is so flattered that she is speechless:: Lol … thank you, thank you! ^^;;;

Tenshi no Hi: Rofl … my thoughts exactly! The Duo is back part. :D

Obsessed: Love triangle, ne? Lol … it resolved itself quickly. xD

The Desert Fox: Hmm … you're reviews are always so unique. :D But anyhow … there was the explanation about Duo (not all that great of one, I might add…) and … well … about the whole killing thing … I try to refrain from it in general. ^^;; 

Aisho: Lol … for one chapter? ::apologizes::

Sunshine Fia: Lol! Oh but Fia-san! I **do** have a fever … the Duo fever. Can't live without him. xD Sorry for the confusion. ^^;;;

Crazygurl70: Rofl … well … it sounds so cheesy when you put it like that. xD (which means it is cheesy … :D)

Blu Moon: Ahh! Sorry about the disappointment with the letter … since you were expecting a new plot "sidestream" from it. :x It was, if everybody inferred it, just a letter from Duo to Treize regarding his return from "death". Heh. Gomen nasai! :D

Dragon-Wing: Rofl … am I so cruel that I'd change the couple at chapter 16? …Do I carry over as being that sadistic? Haha … maybe you shouldn't answer that. ^^;;; 

Thanks everybody for the reviews and for being patient enough to wait out this hiatus! ^^ Yours, Angel. 


	19. The Future Lies Ahead

Disclaimer: Don't own. Don'towndon'towndon'town. Let's leave it at that. :DDD

Oh goodness! After a few long, loooooooooong months, Ashika nee-chan and I are finally online at the same time. Lol … so … that means this chapter has been edited and now, obviously, it has been posted. Ah! All thanks to Ash. :D

****

Chapter 18: The Future Lies Ahead

Hiiro woke to the insistent beeping of his cell on the night table and awkwardly reached for it, careful not to jostle the arm that Usagi was hugging to her chest. 

Fumbling it open with on hand, he said, voice still gravelly with sleep, "Yui here."

"Yui, this is Treize. I just sent two airplane tickets to Calais to the hotel office downstairs. You and Tsukino will be flying back to New York this evening at 6:40 and will take a taxi to the FBI branch there. I'll be waiting for your arrival."

"What?"

"Be there, Yui. And have Tsukino with you." The line went dead and Hiiro slowly closed his cell phone, gently tugging his arm out of Usagi's grip before getting out of bed. The clock blinked 5:30 a.m.

Before he could sneak off to the bathroom, a sleepy voice interrupted him. "Hiiro … what was that?" Usagi sat up and blinked at him blearily, looking adorable in pink bunny pajamas. At his silence, the shadow of sleep left her, and she pursed her lips. "Was it Treize?"

"Yes."

"He's sending the airplane tickets over?"

"Yes."

"Well … I'll go order breakfast while you shower, okay?" She slid off of the bed and walked out of the room. Hiiro stared after her. 

…………………

Treize had long since told his secretary to say "no comment" every time the press phoned his office. Duo Maxwell had showed up yesterday evening to report in for duty, cheerfully unaware of the large amount of dirt he could throw onto Treize's reputation. Treize had to admit he had gone easily on the guy; he was still a bit testy and jumpy after the interview with the New York Times. Actually, to be brutally honest, he was a nervous wreck over the possibility of Maxwell revealing everything. 

His suspicions that whatever occurred would leak out to the press were confirmed when, not twenty minutes later, he received his first phone call of the day from the Chicago Tribune. 

…………………

Hiiro stared blankly at the kitchen table, dappled with the lemony, early-morning sunlight, feeling uncomfortable and annoyed but not betraying it on his face. Usagi sat opposite of him, calmly eating the room service special of breakfast burritos, gingerly slicing bite-sized pieces off and spearing them with the plastic fork. He glanced up and studied her, sipping his orange juice slowly. 

"What's wrong with you?" The question sounded nonchalant and dispassionate as if he were merely commenting on the time of day.

She looked up abruptly, sunlight and shadow playing in her golden hair and on her face, and tilted her head slightly. "What do you mean?"

He let go of the glass of juice, wondering whether or not he should just drop the subject. "I tell you we're heading back to NYC and you tell me you're going to go get breakfast?" There was a dangerous and threatening edge to his voice.

Usagi finally set her knife and fork down, almost reluctantly. "My mom had always told me that I shouldn't worry about things I have no control over."

"So you're giving up."

"Not … per se," she shrugged. 

"What if I told you I was going to ignore Treize's orders and come with you to Innocence?"

"I'd say you're crazy."

"Usagi-" he stopped, frustrated and searching for the right words. "I don't care about Treize or anybody. I don't care about being on the wrong side of the law. I'm willing to give everything up."

She shook her head fiercely and stood up. "You might be willing to give everything up, Hiiro, but I'm not willing to let you."

"I don't understand."

Usagi shrugged. "I don't expect you to." She dropped her dishes off in the sink. When she turned back to him, he was glaring at her. 

"Don't you understand what I'm saying to you? I'm willing to give up my future in order to … to … be with you." Hiiro blinked at himself. He had never said those words in that order. 

"Hiiro, you're the one who doesn't understand. I understand that you are willing to give up everything and I understand what it means but I'm simply not willing to let you do that. Your future lies ahead of you and mine ahead of me. Unfortunately, they don't run together."

Silence permeated the sunny kitchen as both stared at each other.

"Promise me one thing then," he started slowly.

"Let's hear it."

"Promise me you will escape from here and head back to Innocence HQ. Promise me you won't be caught again."

Usagi looked away, troubled, but looked up, startled, as Hiiro pushed his chair back and strode over to her. 

"Promise me." His hands gripped her shoulders.

…………………

"How long will it take me to teach you to be more careful?" Ami sighed as she undid the bandages around Artemis's healing hand and rolled her eyes.

Artemis didn't seem to hear her words as he stared out the window at the NYC skyline. "What do you think Usagi truly feels for Hiiro Yui?"

Ami tucked the end in and shook her head. "Don't let it bother you, Art. You can't change their feelings for each other."

Cat-like emerald eyes narrowed as he turned to her. "So you are saying that they do have feelings towards each other?"

"Don't be stupid, Art. You're smart enough to see what's in plain sight. Hiiro Yui and Usagi Tsukino are head over heels, cannot-be-five-seconds-apart in love with each other." 

Silence passed as Artemis returned to broodingly staring out the window and Ami checked her planner. 

"In love … What do you think they'll do?" A note of fear had crept into Artemis's voice as Ami looked up and gazed at him thoughtfully. 

"I'm not sure," she started slowly. "He might come to us. She might go to him. Or they might just be forever separated…"

"I'd prefer the last scenario."

"Are you sure, Art?" Ami's voice was soft and questioning, more saddened than he had expected. "Usagi's love for you will never change even with Hiiro. Love has no bounds, Art, and even though Usagi is in love with Hiiro, she won't love you any less. For you're the elder brother that saved her and protected her. You're the one she loves best."

He started and turned again to Ami. "You think so?"

She smiled. "I know so."

…………………

__

I promise. I promise that I'll escape.

Usagi shook her head to dispel the thought as she hurriedly stuffed more clothes into the carry-on suitcase, not caring whether or not they were folded properly or not. The light was off in her room and the bare carpet and alabaster walls were illuminated only by silver moonlight. 

Hauling the now full bag off of the bed, she closed her eyes for a brief moment to collect herself before righting the suitcase and heading towards the door.

"I guess this is goodbye, Hiiro," she stated softly, not bothering to glance at the doorway.

"How'd you know I was here?" He stepped into the room and stared at her, arms neatly crossed over his chest. 

She shrugged and grinned at him, gently leaning onto the propped up suitcase. "I didn't spend over seven years at Innocence for nothing."

His eyebrows shot up. "Since…fourteen?"

She looked away. "I forgot. I never did tell you my past."

"You did when I was unconscious."

Usagi smiled to herself. "So careless of me to believe the great Hiiro Yui could actually be sleeping at night, right?" **[1]** The words were mocking but the tone was teasing as she strode towards him, suitcase standing alone in the center of the room. "I'll be sure to mail it to you sometime."

"You're postponing it more?" His tone was mildly incredulous as she smiled and his arms loosely came around her waist. He leaned down until his forehead touched hers in a gentle gesture and stared at her as her eyelids fluttered shut. 

"I'll be leaving soon. Art sent a private plane over to the downtown area and the pilot is driving a rented car over to here," Usagi whispered, eyes still closed as Hiiro stared at the minute movement of her lips, slight in the darkness. "Hiiro … will I ever see you again?"

He didn't answer. And when those crystalline eyes reopened, questioning, he leant in even further and kissed a path from her forehead to her lips.

And then there was sweet serenity and quiet, and in the darkness, it felt almost as if they were the only two people alive.

…………………

Oh … my … I didn't realize how many insinuations this chapter seemed to have until Callie nee-chan read it over for me. :x They weren't meant to be there! Like the first scene … and the last sentence. No meanings whatsoever. Hahaha. But anyhow … this was actually … something like one of my favorite chapters. It isn't particularly the writing … just what happened while I was writing. [was in a barber shop to get hair cut when part of this was written] Yes. Just had to let you guys know. Okay. You can leave now. :D

Lesson: Reading makes one depressed because one realizes how untalented and ignorant one is. XD But if reading makes one depressed, it means that one is getting complacent. Getting complacent is not good. It slows down or stops progress. [translation: somebody insult me, please. :D no. seriously.]

Notes:

1. If you'll remember, Usagi told Hiiro that she told him her past while he was unconscious that one night during which Duo had appeared, unseen. So, they are referring to that, not to Hiiro faking unconsciousness. ^^;;;

Serena Yuy: You're back! o_o!!! Welcome, welcome! Brother, ne? Say no more. :DDD

Firefly Princess: Aiya … you're definitely one of the reasons for my complacency. With your absolutely beyond flattering words that make me all bubbly and happy and and and … stop! Lolol. ::forces self to stop bouncing over review:: Your perception of Duo's situation is exactly what I wanted it to be! Though … to be brutally honest, I'm not sure whether that perception is a result of my writing or your imagination. XD

Ashika: I'm so sorry!!! Forgive me!!! …please? :D

Obsessed: I know … --; Duo's chance was squashed so quickly … :x 

Tenshi no Hi: Swooning? Lol! …I have the ability to make girls swoon. o_o!!! ::flaunts::

The Desert Fox: Lol … sorry about the not responding deal. :x I think … the only site that I actively submitted to [for which the web mistress is personally updating my stories for me … ::embarrassed::] was one ran by Lady Cosmos. But … I'm pretty sure it still works…is the site: . Oh! Maybe you visited the crosswinds site? Hmm … I think I remember this being previously hosted at crosswinds…?

Princess2000204: H-haaaaa…:D I updated! Quickly! [sort of]

Gackt Camui: o_o!!! You're too nice!!! Be at your most brutal! Lol … must … stop … rereading review! ::dies:: 

Sunshine Fia: Lol … yay! So everything is cleared up, ne? …No more confusing stuff? ::please say yes:: Artemis and Ami-chan … hmm … I'm not sure we're going to see Ami-chan again. In fact, I'm almost positive we won't. But we will see Artemis again. For sure. :DDD Very vital. Luna wasn't in the fic [surprisingly!] Lol … it gets confusing after awhile, huh? I have trouble remember who's how old in which fic and stuff … :x Ah yes. Not getting paid for six months definitely sucks … but it beats going to jail for a few years. :DDD [I might have been a bit lenient on them actually … lol] And after your celebration over Hiiro and Usagi being a couple … I wonder how much you're going to hate me after this chapter. Rofl. --;

Thank yous go out to everybody who bothered to review and, of course, even to those who didn't [reading = flattering. :DDD] Oh goodness … you guys are all so awesome. ::retreats to corner to gush:: Yours, Angel. :D


	20. The Road Not Taken

Disclaimer: Gundam Wing and Sailor Moon belong to affiliations and persons whose names don't even remotely sound like An-gel-ight. :x

Technically the last chapter but, as usual, we have the epilogue that [hopefully] will tie up all loose ends. No guarantees though. ^^; Since so many people were so confused over Picture This … I guess I assumed too much when I thought most people have seen/heard of Fushigi Yugi. :x Ah well. "Short" explanation that you can skip over. It's here simply because I have nowhere else to put it and … I need to take up space. xD [Fushigi Yugi spoilers ahead]:

[Hiiro remained in the manga of Usagi's. In Picture This, the manga is symbolic of the ancient Chinese text of the Four Gods that Miaka and her friend Yui were sucked into. Miaka fell in love with Tamahome, a character of that ancient text who was, to be brutal, _not real_. And then, when Miaka left the book, Tamahome followed her. However, Miaka's older brother noted that Tamahome didn't have a shadow and therefore, he couldn't exist in the real world. Sound familiar? Just like Picture This, ne? But, of course, it's the ending that is most parallel. 

In Fushigi Yugi, the ending was when Miaka was about to enter college, walking around the campus with friend Yui and elder brother. The brother mentions something about a guy who said he wanted to meet Miaka because he had been "searching for her all his life and the purpose of his life was to protect her". But then suddenly Miaka stops short and covers her mouth. The guy her brother was talking about was just a few feet away from her, smiling at her and raising a hand on which a red-stoned ring -- which Miaka had given to him while still in the book -- flashed. The anime ends with Tamahome saying, "Zutto, zutto" which was … fan-translated as "finally, finally" but maybe it was actually "always, always".

So there. That is just like the ending of Picture This. Of course, I assumed that the Tamahome she met in the end wasn't the real one -- he had a shadow and everything. So that explains the change of spellings for the name Hiiro Yui to Heero Yuy. Therefore, no, the man at the end was not truly Hiiro. He was more like … a Hiiro reborn. :D That also, then, explains the references in the newspaper article at the ending that proclaimed that Usagi had written Fushigi Yugi. It explains where the inspiration for the manga came from. After all, Usagi lived it. :D 

So, in short, Hiiro is Tamahome, Usagi is Miaka, Luna is something like Miaka's brother, everybody else I didn't really try to connect. :x Ah yes, and the conversation with Trowa near the end about what is real and what is not real simply amplifies Tamahome's -- and Nuriko's…? -- fears which he voiced about simply being part of somebody else's story. That's all. Wow! That was longer than I'd intended… --;]

Happy reading, minna-san. :D

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Chapter 19: The Road Not Taken

__

Hiiro, will I ever see you again?

"Yui, this had better be good. You just made the government lose money over two wasted plane tickets because _you_ decided _you_ weren't ready to leave Calais!"

"Due to unforeseen circumstances, Tsukino Usagi escaped from me last night at approximately three a.m. I'll be faxing you the report before trading those tickets in and heading back to HQ," he stated stonily, ignoring Treize's previous words.

There was a sigh on the other side. "You know what? I don't want to know. File the report but don't give it to me. I'm tired of this whole conflict. Tsukino and Innocence can take over the world if they want."

"That's good to know, sir."

"But you, Yui, are going on a vacation. At least three weeks. Both you _and_ I need to recuperate."

"Yes, sir."

"Now trade in those tickets, head back here using one of them, file the report, and I expect the other ticket on my desk tomorrow morning. You can leave it with the receptionist."

"Yes, sir."

__

Will you ever see me again? 

Hopefully not.

…………………

Treize shook his head and rubbed his face tiredly, admitting defeat. There was no use of the mission. Nothing had come out of it and he had wasted plenty of the government's money, sapping from the defense organizations' funds. 

Duo Maxwell had reported back to him, and there was no longer anything he could hold against Tsukino Usagi. Innocence had been proven innocent, or at least, more innocent than most people thought, by the manipulation of Quatre Winner. Treize decided he had suffered and caused the government enough humiliation. _Innocence wasn't doing much wrong_, he tried to console himself, _And if it ever does, I'll be ready for it._

He had to admit that sometimes, justice just wasn't worth pursuing.

He had to admit that there were shades of gray in life.

And he had to admit that Innocence was one of them.

With one click of the mouse, the entire Innocence file was embedded and hidden into his own private files.

…………………

Artemis grinned at her as she stepped out of one of Innocence's white limos, sunglasses perched on nose. With a flourish, they came off and she smiled back, trying her hardest to look brave. Relena rushed forward and hugged her, welcoming her back, and breathing a soft _thank you_ to whoever might be listening.

"Now, come along. The assignments are piling up without you here," Artemis instructed sternly though he couldn't help the smile that broke past his slight frown.

Usagi grinned back at him and reached over to hug him. His look of mild surprise was quickly replaced by a smile as he looked over Usagi's shoulder and saw Relena giving him the "I told you so" look. Maybe the Vice Foreign Minister did have a point after all – even with Hiiro Yui, Usagi would still care for him.

"Let's head in, shall we?" 

Usagi linked arms with the two of them and glanced up at both. "Well, guys. You have a story to tell, huh?"

"It's not going to be as great as yours."

"But still. Escaping after being arrested with a warrant and everything must be something!" she protested, grinning. 

Both mentors to her sides simply smiled at her as they entered the air-conditioned building and were greeted with a blast of cold air. Usagi walked slowly as she looked around, old memories resurfacing. Though the time she'd been away had not been over three months, it felt like it was well over three years. 

The halls were just as perfect, the walls of mirrors pristine and polished enough to clearly reflect her face back to her. She slid her hand against the wall gently on her right as they walked, marveling at the seamless glass. 

Usagi peeked into a weaponry lab, watching Innocence's top scientists scuttle around behind the window of glass that made up the wall, wondering if any of them even noticed her missing and shaking her head, knowing that Artemis undoubtedly _made_ them aware even if they weren't. 

Her fingers continued to slide against on the wall as the trio passed the training room. She paused and stared blankly at a new recruit watching an older one attempt to pass Innocence's final test. The instructor inside stopped and glanced over at them before halting all other students and pointing each of them out. She didn't smile but waved softly as half a dozen or so new faces turned to the window-like wall and gazed at the threesome in wonder. Undoubtedly, her reputation preceded her.

They continued down the hall, the guards standing at intervals saluting them briefly and other agents nodding, smiling, or waving. She turned back once and saw many of them pausing and glancing back as well, studying her, Artemis, and Relena as they traveled further. Artemis took her arm and led her away from the direction of her room and she blinked at him, puzzled. They turned and turned again before a pair of intricately blown, frosted glass doors, at least two times her height, stood in front of them. Artemis opened it slowly and held it. Usagi looked questioningly into the dark room. 

The lights flipped on.

"Surprise!"

She paused and stared, wide-eyed at the gathering of people, all standing or about to be standing as the ballroom was bathed in golden light. Her head tilted back as she studied the towering ceiling and delicate clusters of beaded glass, lighting the room. 

Every eye was on her as she took in the silvery tapestries on the walls and the expensive porcelain dishes lining tables strewn with white rose petals. Innocence's symbol, a solitary, barely blooming white rose, stood alone at the center of each table. 

Every eye continued to follow her as she gingerly stepped down the sweeping staircase and looked into the small clusters of people. 

Every eye gazed at her as, finally, she smiled and waved. 

Every eye flew to Artemis as he followed her lead and asked her to dance despite her casual clothing.

And every mind thought the same thing as the lights dimmed and the music started:

__

The princess has returned to her palace.

…………………

"Hiiro, you're on vacation?" He flipped the vid-com on to Trowa's mildly smiling face, a pair of socks in one hand and T-shirt in the other, in the middle of packing.

"How'd you know?"

Trowa rolled his eyes. "By now, the entire ESUN knows. Treize admitted to deceiving the masses and Quatre bailed him out due to Duo's begging."

He nodded slowly, more to himself than to Trowa and tossed the pair of socks into the suitcase about six feet away. "Where are you?"

Trowa grinned sheepishly. "We're on involuntary vacation too. Unpaid. He's calling us back about half a year from now."

"All this punishment for the Maxwell case?"

"And because he just isn't really fond of us."

Hiiro nodded.

"So I've heard a lot has happened to you," Trowa began testily. "Anything you're willing to share?"

He thought briefly. "No, not really."

Trowa shook his head but dropped the subject. "Are you going to go somewhere or just stay in that dark apartment of yours for your time off?"

"I was thinking of taking my vacation time seriously this time."

"Any plans?"

"No, not really. Why?" He looked up at Trowa.

"Well, Wufei, Quatre, Duo, and I wanted to head down to Cancun for a week or two and then maybe over to Australia, paid mostly by Quatre, of course. Are you interested? We're heading out tonight and can send you tickets by then."

Hiiro looked down. Usagi was officially worlds away, back in her palace of glass, a building that served as a symbol of Innocence. Primarily glass, it could be easily broken but once broken, it could easily bite back, tearing flesh. He frowned to himself. And it was odd that, as Quatre had once off-handedly mentioned, glass looked most enchanting when stained with blood. 

But now, armed with the knowledge of Innocence's true purposes, the fact didn't seem as horrible. Perhaps Innocence was simply stained with the blood of those who were willing to give their reputations and hearts in order to change the world.

There was a lot to think about, but there was no hurry. He still had his entire life ahead of him.

"Count me in."

…………………

Usagi sighed and looked out the window into the night from her reclining position in bed. The party had been exquisite, the food high class, and she was back in the lap of luxury, but somehow, it seemed empty and devoid of meaning.

At age six, when questioned by a first-grade teacher on what she wanted to do when she grew up, little Usagi proudly answered that she wanted to change the world. 

At age sixteen, Usagi looked at herself and decided it was impossible.

Now, at age twenty-one, she finally understood the truth of the maxim, _if you want to change the world, start by changing one person_.

…………………

The friction had come and gone between him and Duo, both silently agreeing to drop the past and settle with the present. Hiiro stared out at the small oval of night, ignoring Duo's antics as the others stuffed their carry-on luggage into the overhead compartments. 

Despite Duo's protests, Trowa sat down next to him and smiled, nodding towards the window. "Great scene, isn't it?" 

He didn't smile. "I'm glad to leave it behind." 

The plane started to slowly head towards the runway; he watched the lights of nighttime NYC sluggishly passing him by. He was changed, he had to admit to himself. At any other point in his life, he would not have wasted one of Quatre's plane tickets simply to head back to New York to travel with his friends, instead, opting to fly directly to Cancun from Calais. It was a simple and small difference but, to him, it was the world. 

He momentarily wondered where She was and what She was doing. Probably guarded by Artemis in Innocence like the million-dollar jewels She handled. Closing his eyes, he leaned back in his seat, pleasantly aware that all chatter had faded away, even Duo's.

The plane sped up, the lights flying by in swirls of color and, with a lurch of motion, they were airborne.

Hiiro Yui opened his eyes as the past and present faded to nothing and he was left with only the future.

…………………

Typical, is it not? XD Ah well. Epilogue will be posted hopefully within next week. :D

Darlana: o_o!!! I should thank you more for reading than you should me for updating … :D Hiiro and Usagi not getting together … urk … what a strange combination of words. xD Ah, yes, yes … poor Duo … it's too bad he didn't get more involved … I miss him … lol. :x

Purple Hotagi: Lol … actually Duo wasn't going to show up … but then the Duo obsession-type-thing set in and … how could anybody resist? xD Oh goodness … that word! _Confused_. It always spells doom for me. :x I think the faking death thing was too … contrived? :x But … perhaps there'll be more on it if the sequel works out … ? --; Wufei and Trowa were just picked out of thin air [mainly because they had no other roles…] but … I actually do really like having them together too. :D 

Naiad: Ah, thank you so much! :D Urk … Duo finding somebody else … heh heh … ? Well … mmm … he does let go of it … so he won't be eternally plagued by grudges! :x But, sadly enough, no Duo pairings. ;-;

The Desert Fox: I always find it so difficult to keep up with a lot of characters … especially since SM has a girl for each planet, etc. ^^; In most fics, I have a tendency to focus on the people that … urk … I like the most? :x Usually all the pilots are involved and … since I'm mainly familiar with the inner senshi [because SM started being broadcasted at inaccessible hours after they started showing the S season and so on], Ami, Minako, Rei, and Makoto show up the most [usually Ami or Minako … ^^;]. With occasional smidgens of Hotaru. :D "Artemis is like Sir Robin of Locksley aka Robin Hood and Innocence is like the band of Merry Men. Would that make Q-man the fat friar, Friar Tuck?" LOL! It sounds so strange when you phrase it that way. xD

Lady Artemis: WAH! Long time no see! :D Thank you so much. :D And … urk … I'll update quickly … promise! :D

Vixen: Oh my … your way with words even carries over into reviews…!! Lol … reminds me of a movie. :D And since you're now back from vacation, you'll be updating more often, correct? Yes, yes? :D

Thanks for all the lovely, lovely reviews that were simply … lovely! :D Submitted, of course, by all you lovely people. :D Lovely! Yours, Angel.


	21. Epilogue: If You Love Something

Disclaimer: Neither Gundam Wing nor Sailor Moon belongs to me. World conquest would bring them under my control but … that'd be going the round-about way, ne? :x

Very short. Enjoy, minna-san! :D

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Gray Matter: Epilogue: If You Love Something… 

"Hiiro! Call's yours!" Quatre shouted up from the bottom floor of his beach house in Cancun. Three days had passed since they had arrived and even he, who had barely come into contact with Hiiro in almost six years, noted the drastic change in his high school friend. 

He held the phone to his ear and waited until Hiiro was on the line before hanging up. 

Hiiro was much more relaxed, though still not exactly sociable by any means. He bothered to have lunch and dinner with him and the others, and he tolerated Duo so much that Wufei had almost given up his threats to the braided officer. 

Quatre shook his head and gave up trying to figure him out.

…………………

"Hiiro? Have you got a copy of the morning paper with you?" Relena's face appeared on the vid-com, all smiles. 

He blinked at her and held up the tube-like bag that contained the paper. Even while on vacation, Quatre had insisted on keeping up to date. 

"Read the headlines."

Hiiro slowly unfolded the paper, glancing up at her periodically and finally looked down at that front page.

Relena saw Hiiro smile for the second time in her life.

__

Tsukino Does it Again!: Innocence Agent Comes Back, Full Force.

"Is she … doing well?" 

"Well what can you expect from somebody who's separated from the person she loves?" Relena paused to grin, taking in the awe-inspiring blue of Hiiro's eyes when he smiled. "But she's fine, still gorgeous and motivated. Very successful."

"I've heard Innocence's profit ratios are going up."

Relena beamed at him. "I've been trying to get the ESUN to accept Innocence as one of its governmental factions."

Hiiro shook his head, mouth quirking up slightly. "Artemis will never agree to that. And the government doesn't quite suit Her."

The Vice Foreign Minister shrugged. "I suppose you're right. But enough about everybody here; how're you doing?"

"I'm on mandatory vacation. How do you think I'm doing?" he shot back sarcastically.

"No, really, Hiiro. Can you honestly tell me that you don't enjoy it? It must be great – the five of you back together." 

He didn't bother to answer but instead changed the subject. Relena shook her head, aware that though Hiiro was changed, he was still uncomfortable with most intimate emotions and relationships. 

"Innocence's prospective future is great."

Relena tilted her head to the side and studied him. "And so is yours."

…………………

"Hiiro Yui, recently promoted to top agent under Treize Khushrenada, is currently on vacation and was last seen somewhere on the beaches of Cancun," Artemis read aloud. Usagi looked up abruptly as the silver-haired man appeared noiselessly and stood leaning against her doorframe. 

"Well, what do you know?" she laughed softly. "Hiiro, on vacation…"

"But getting down to business." Artemis came into the room and sat down opposite of her. "Do you want the McKinley case? It's a quick two mil."

"Lord, missions sure are piling up. Put it on the list, okay?" 

There was a short pause in the conversation as Usagi twirled around in her chair, silently appreciating the New York scenery, while Artemis studied her fair features – golden hair, light blue eyes, and pale skin. Usagi's appearance hadn't changed much over the years he had worked with her.

"He misses you, y'know."

She twirled back around. "And how would you know that?"

"Relena talked to him recently. He's changed."

Her eyes looked past him as if peering into the distant future. "And so have I."

Artemis nodded, agreeing absolutely. 

Usagi Tsukino was back. She was bold. And she was still as beautiful as ever. **[1]**

But like she herself had said, Usagi had changed. 

Even before, Usagi Tsukino was a name to be appreciated, but after she had come back, Usagi's name attained immortality and divinity. This time around, Usagi was no longer afraid of tears, of relationships, of love. This time around, she was completely invincible. 

"We have a safe line to him. One time use only."

Her eyes widened as a smile lit up her face. "Really?"

"You can e-mail him."

"E-mail him?"

Artemis nodded towards her computer. "You can do it right now, if you want."

He watched her silently as she pulled up Outlook Express before walking over behind the desk, entering an address for her and typing in a security code. For privacy, he walked back so that he was opposite of her.

Usagi thought, head tilted backwards, staring at the ceiling. Finally, grinning, she leaned forward and tapped out one single sentence before clicking send.

Artemis didn't need to ask. She beamed at his puzzled face and explained, "It says a whole lot more than anything I could ever write."

She didn't see the e-mail as a locking of the door but rather an entrance to the future. Turning back to the skyline, Usagi closed her eyes and welcomed it with open arms.

…………………

__

You've got mail.

Hiiro started and stared skeptically at his laptop. The only person who would e-mail him for any reason would be Treize but even he didn't know his private address. Getting up, he clicked on the mailbox icon and gaped at what was in it.

Frowning and breath abated, he double clicked on the dark blue, highlighted text and read the brief line from Innocence, New York City. Blinking, he reread it, and slowly, a smile stretched over his face. 

__

If you love something, let it go, and if it comes back to you…

Hiiro Yui looked out at the bright morning sky and waited impatiently for the future.

…………………

Notes:

1.Got it from Diana Crescent's She's Back! She's Bold! … and She's Finally Home. Was browsing, saw the title, and used it. :D

Oh goodness … it's over. :D It was over a long time ago … but now is when the sense of completion kicks in. Lovely feeling, really. :D

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Serena Yuy: rofl … yep! Hiiro and Usagi are going to be separated for more than five seconds. xD Whether or not they're going to be together … depends entirely on the sequel. :D [though the thought of writing a sequel kind of makes me queasy because … sequels have a habit of not living up to the original … not that this is much to live up to but … !! I'm blabbering. :D] No Kleenex box needed! Lol … it's just all … hopeful-like and stuff. :D I hope this was posted early enough for you! [it's Tuesday-Wednesday … that's considered early in the week, ne? :D] Lol … and I got tired of Treize being evil. xD

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CrystalGem2003: "Not really interesting; I'll just skip it" Lol … my thoughts exactly when this was at four chapters. xD [which lead to the long, long hiatus … :D] Thank you so much for your comments! Heh… :D

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Lady Artemis: Lol … call this an experiment then, eh? :D Well … it's not depressing at least! So … there's definitely hope that they'll end up together [which is … I suppose … typical of my writing … --;] Sappy endings are great, ne? :D [that was random…]

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Crazygurl: Lol … well … "cheesiness" works with this fic. xD [you formatted the review in a soap opera episode preview … rofl] And, yes, I feel your pain. Lol. xD

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Vixen: …!! ::has died and gone to heaven:: Ahhh … I feel like I can't live up to that at all! Lol … and I'll hold you to your promise to update more now that you're back. :DDD

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Naiad: The boys in Cancun … lol … just like that beach-type picture with them all wearing Hawaiian-type shirts! :DDD And I didn't realize until you pointed it out…!! [that there were no GW/SM couples in the end … or rather … there weren't any couples at all in the end … lol. :x] ::hands you Duo's leash:: Have fun! :D

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The Desert Fox: How do the Outers honestly feel about Serena … hmmm … honestly, I can't say I have any right to answer that. Lol … [I haven't seen but a few episodes past R season and they were all random and unconnected… :x] Maybe … maybe it started out as their seeing her as the "Queen" and then slowly warming up to her…? [wild guess…xD] Robin Hood … heh heh … I've kind of made the connection but never really thought it through and when you connected each character to another character … lol … it was almost scary/funny how accurate it was. :D And your PS … rofl! :x Urk … twelve kids…? How will Hiiro _ever_ manage? Rofl … ::imagines each kid running around with one of Hiiro's guns:: o_o!! Hmm … I should read into the Pluto planet controversy … sounds interesting. :D

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Sere Star: Heh heh … me too, me too! :D And thanks by the bunches. :D

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Gackt Camui: Depressing? Lol … [I've never been depressed by any of my fics…:x] But, ::ahem::, I'll tell you what's really depressing! You're not writing H/U anymore! [But you updated Fear Me, right? Need to go review … hmm…] Write, Gackt-san, write! :DDD

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Pyro-Girl: Lol … one fic that I'm actually going to kind of miss. :D Thanks for sticking with me throughout all of this! ::luffs::

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Purple Hotagi: Sequel … Lol … hopefully! :D It was nice having you drop in. :DDD

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Question: Sequel vs. no sequel. Like I mentioned to Serena Yuy-san, I don't want to fall into the typical sequel trap … and truthfully, most sequels don't live up to the originals [because the freshness is gone…] But … there's a general idea in my head … with a very, very tentative summary [which needs to be shortened…] like this: 

Five years from the pivotal moment in her life when Hiiro left, Usagi fakes her death to take a small break from Innocence. But it isn't as easy as she'd thought and when a strange new organization nicknamed Eden appears, she's in for another round of dodging the bad guys. But this time, Hiiro is by her side ... right? 

It's vague and definitely sounds a bit dull … ["bit" might actually be quite flattering … lol] But … lol … I've grown attached to this fic. :x Your opinions! … please? :D

Great big thank yous to everybody who stuck with me throughout this whole fic, which has spanned over … two years-ish? Or actually … two and a half years-ish? o_o!!! You guys have a lot of commitment. XD And great big thank yous also to those who came and went but still … urk … sampled it? :DDD Anyhow. I'm grateful to everybody in the entire world. Ahhh … good night, world. ^^ Yours, Angel. 


End file.
